Just Tell Me The Truth
by ahack6
Summary: Sequel to Sisters Grimm: The War and Beyond. Something or someone is after Sabrina, Puck is being a jerk, and lives are on the line. It doesn't help when Sabrina and Puck are stuck in the middle of the biggest fight they've had in years... **Third place in The Best Sisters Grimm Story of 2011 Contest**
1. Chapter 1

**This is the sequel. So... **sighs** I had run out of ideas. Then, yesterday, I was talking to WriterCat, and she wanted me to do a horror story. And because I had no other ideas and needed to do a sequel for my other SG story, this is what came out of my brain. I was going to do a sequel with Puckabrina being married with their daughter Hollyn, but the PMs I'm getting seem to suggest they want to keep the Grimms-and Puck-as kids. And because I'm a NICE writer, I obliged. :) **

**Note: I'm going to try my best to make this creepy, and maybe a little scary. I'm not the best at this, so... yeah. Go with the flow.  
>Set a week after Puck and Sabrina kiss (they have conflicting feelings about that).<strong>

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><p>Sabrina was just settling into the best part of a wonderful dream when she was abruptly woken up. "Stupid alarm clock," she slurred, sitting up, rubbing her eyes, and slamming her fist down on the now slightly cracked clock. The hideous beeping stopped with a feeble, "Weeerrrrp", as it did every school morning.<p>

Now came the chore of waking up Daphne, who could probably pass for a coma patient right now, curled up in a little ball, deep asleep, and oblivious to the world (and the alarm). Sabrina shook her. "Daphne." And again. "_Daaaphne."_ Harder. "Daphne, there's food!"

Suddenly, a bright eyed, bushy tailed little girl sat up in bed, her braids askew. "Thefoodsmine!" she said, hopping out of bed and racing downstairs. Sabrina wondered if her sister was delirious, but shrugged and went to the bathroom to take her morning shower. She checked each shampoo and conditioner bottle-as well as everything else-thoroughly before using it. The bathroom, Sabrina knew, was Puck's favorite place for pranks, and she did NOT need that right now, not on a school day.

As she wrapped a towel around herself, finished with the shower, thunder rumbled outside. _Great. This can only mean a bad day is ahead of me._ Sabrina hated storms. Not that she minded the thunder, lightning and rain, or anything, it was just the dreary mood that the weather seemed to bring. It made her irritable.

There was a knock on the door. "Sabrina?" Veronica Grimm called. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah... I'll be out as soon as I'm done drying my hair!" the girl called back, taking out the blowdryer and comb before attacking her tangled blonde mass of wet hair. Ten minutes later, she let her mom in to get ready, dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast.

Daphne had already eaten, changed into school clothes, and was reading by the front door, as always. She loved school, and would never dream of being late or unprepared. When her sister walked in, the little girl sat up and grinned. "Look! I'm on page 78 of Harry Potter and the Salamander's Stone!"

Sabrina snorted as she buttered a piece of toast, ignoring the silvery oatmeal her grandmother had made earlier. "It's Sorcerer's, Daph, not Salamander's."

"Oh..."

Just as she sat down with her blessedly normal breakfast, there was a tremendous boom from upstairs, along with shouts and obscenities.

"I will NOT take a bath! I took one THREE DAYS AGO!" an arrogant boy's voice screeched.

"Boy, you will get in that tub or I will tear you limb from limb!" Canis boomed. Sabrina laughed at how ridiculous they sounded.

Something crashed, and the sound of running footsteps shook the whole house. "You don't even have the wolf, back, you-AUGH! Jake, you TRAITOR!"

By now, both Grimm sisters were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt. It seemed that Puck was going to get his morning bath, after all.

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><p>"Would you hurry up?" Sabrina demanded, yelling up the stairs at the fairy boy that was going to make them late if he didn't emerge in the next five minutes.<p>

"Would you _shut_ up?" Puck retorted from somewhere upstairs. Sabrina clenched her fists. So she'd admitted she liked him. That didn't change the fact that he was a stupid, lazy, mean, cruel, arrogant, dirty little- Puck rounded the corner, scowling as he stomped down the stairs.

"Like your bath?" Sabrina asked sweetly, ignoring the fact that she was fighting a major blushing breakdown. He wasn't just clean, someone had forced washed clothes upon him as well.

Puck glared at her murderously. "Shut your ugly face."

Even though the insult hurt, Sabrina smirked at him. Hopefully, he didn't really mean it and was just mad. Because, well... she cared about what he thought. Immediately, scarlet coloring flooded her cheeks.

Daphne sighed. "Stop arguing! We're gonna be late for school," she said, frowning. "Ms. White won't be very happy with me if I'm late!"

It took a lot of Sabrina's mental strength not to lash out at her sister's irritating tone. Instead, she hurled her things into her backpack, grabbed an umbrella, and stalked out of the house, leaving Puck and Daphne behind. It was raining earnestly now. The girl could barely see four feet ahead of herself before her view was interrupted with a bleak, gray sheet of pouring water. Lightning crackled and thunder boomed overhead as she huddled under the black umbrella, walking quickly down the hill atop which her grandmother's house sat.

Taking a deep breath, Sabrina pushed away the grim weather with a forced smile. _In ten minutes I'll be with Carmen and Kathryn. In ten minutes, I won't have to bother with Puck for the rest of the day_. Not that the fairy boy would ever leave her thoughts. Ever since the kiss... well... Sabrina adjusted her backpack, thinking about the past week. Truth be told, she was fairly embarrassed.

Yes, she liked him, yes, the moment had been perfect, yes, it had made her happy, but no, she had not told anyone, and no, their relationship at home had not changed. It seemed to Sabrina that Puck wanted to pretend their little romantic exchange had never happened. He hadn't so much has paid her a compliment since the day of the kiss.

And oh, did it _hurt._

As she neared the heart of Ferryport Landing, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she halted. Wait... did she just see movement off to her left, in those thick trees? "It's just the rain," Sabrina told herself. "Whatever it is, it can't outsmart the Queen of Sneaks." Nevertheless, she was spooked, and hustled into the school, taking down her umbrella and wiping her shoes on the carpet placed in the entryway. Not that it helped; so many wet feet had wiped themselves on it, the poor thing was already soaking.

By the time she gathered her things in her locker, met Carmen and Kathryn in homeroom, and ignored the dirty looks the newly arrived Puck gave her, Sabrina had completely forgotten about the strange occurrence outside. She wouldn't remember until it was much too late.

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><p><strong>Oh! Suspense! Haha, REVIEW!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay, new chapter! Tell me what you think, and sorry the first chapter (and maybe this one, too...) had little to no substance in it. It will get better, I promise.**

**And I apologize for Sabrina's constant thinking about Puck. My goal is to make her seem confused, like, "I admitted I liked him... why the heck is he ignoring me?" She might even be kinda heartbroken, not that she'd ever admit it! **

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><p>Kathryn was sitting on her hands, biting her lip, and giggling. Every minute or so, a faint blush would creep up her cheeks and make her giggle. On the other side of the table, Sabrina and Carmen stared at her, completely bemused, waiting for Mrs. Jarvis to begin Science.<p>

"What is _wrong_ with her?" Sabrina asked Carmen, shooting Kathryn an incredulous glance. Her best friend was _never_ like this. As she spoke, Kathryn giggled again. One of her small hands was playing with a strand of short, light brown, pin-straight hair, and her large hazel eyes were sparkling. She looked... well...

"She's in love," Carmen answered in a hushed whisper, breaking out in an embarrassed smile. "I can totally tell."

Sabrina raised her eyebrows. If that was what love was, she was never getting into it! Then she thought about the kiss and frowned. "With who?"

Carmen shrugged. "I dunno. Ask her yourself." When Sabrina shot her friend a look that said, _Isn't that completely awkward?_, Carmen rolled her eyes and gestured forward. Apparently, she wanted to know, too.

"Fine," Sabrina said, turning to Kathryn. "Um... Rynnie?"

Kathryn jumped as if startled, and met Sabrina's eyes a little guiltily. "Sorry, 'Brina... It's just..." She took a deep breath. "Have you noticed how totally _hawt_ Robin has gotten since last year? He's so dreamy..."

"Robin _Goodfellow?_" Sabrina asked, her jaw dropping. _Yeah! I know! He's actually nice when he's clean! _"Ew! He's a jerk!"

Kathryn looked a little hurt. "He's got abs," she protested, pouting in an over-exaggerated way. Immediately, the three girls started snorting with laughter. Carmen let out a loud guffaw right as Mrs. Jarvis walked in, earning her a glare.

"Ms. Yardley, is there something you would like to tell the class?" Carmen shook her head vigorously. Sabrina shook with silent laughter at her friend, but inside she was a little irked.

_Calm down, Sabrina Grimm. So freaking _WHAT_ if Kathryn likes Puck? He hasn't been acknowledging me since the kiss. He's probably blaming it on me again. So why the heck am I so freaking jealous?_

Sabrina gritted her teeth, which made her look especially odd. Kathryn noticed. "Dude, are you constipated or something?"

"No!" she snapped back, mentally slapping herself. Kathryn's eyes widened and she sat back.

"Ooo-kay then..."

Sabrina started to tell her friend she was sorry, that she was jealous jerk, and that there was NO reason whatsoever for her to stand in the way of her friend's obsessions, but Mrs. Jarvis started talking about the Milky Way galaxy, and Sabrina didn't really feel like apologizing anyway.

She knew that she had been right. Rainy days sucked.

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><p>Lunch period was torture. Never mind that it was pizza day, or that they got free cookies-Kathryn would not shut up about how totally awesome Puck (aka Robin) looked. Sabrina didn't know how much more she could stand. It made her so angry to think that Puck was so popular. <em>If only they knew him better, they'd understand.<em> He was a grade-A jerk! Why did all of the guys hang out with him? Why were all the girls swooning over him?

_Um, 'cause without the dirt, he's kind of-_

Sabrina coughed loudly, interrupting her train of thought. Nope. She wasn't going to think about that now.

But it didn't help that the idiotic fairy boy in question walked by at that precise moment. "Wow, Grimm, you look absolutely disgusting today!" he said, laughing as he passed. Kathryn almost fainted while Sabrina narrowed her eyes at the retreating boy.

"He winked at me! Carmen, Sabrina, I think I've got a chance here!" the small girl crowed.

"Did you not hear what he just said about me?" Sabrina said, raising her eyebrows as she fingered her pizza.

Kathryn blushed. "Sorry, girl. He might be mean to you, but..." She grinned.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You're ob-_sessed._"

"Majorly obsessed," Carmen added. "But we can pay him back in gym, right, 'Brina?"

Sabrina grinned. She excelled at gym, and because they played dodgeball every day, she could totally take out her anger at stupid Puck. "We're going to cream him, Cary."

Kathryn laughed. "Just don't mess up his face!"

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><p>Sabrina cracked her knuckles. The target was in sight. All that she needed to do was get a ball and nail Puck in the face. That would show him.<p>

Though she told Carmen and Kathryn that she was focusing on him because she was sick of Kathryn's obsessing, Sabrina knew that there were deeper motives. Angry motives. Payback. _He _deserves_ to get whopped in the face. He's ignored me. He's pranked me. And every bit of that special something we shared seems to be gone now... without reason. So he's going to _get it.

The whistle blew, and Sabrina sprinted toward the balls. Picking one up, she threw one at Charlie Miller, who had been preparing to get Carmen out. It hit him in the chest, and she heard the satisfying _woosh_ of air as his lungs emptied. Catching another ball in midair, she scanned the opposing team. Only recently had she begun to get more confidence on dodgeball. "If I can defeat the freaking Scarlet Hand, this is a piece of cake," she muttered, catching Puck's eye.

The fairy boy grinned evilly, and tauntingly held up his ball as if to say, "This one's for you." She did the same, without the smile. Why hadn't he guessed that she was furious with him? Oh yeah. Because he's a jerk.

Puck's ball flew by her, missing her head by centimeters and slamming into poor Kathryn's legs. The small girl squeaked as she was knocked to the ground, her head knocking against the hard wooden floor. Sabrina called over, "Rynnie, are you okay?" Kathryn sat up, dazed.

"Ayup... 'fo sure..."

The coach made Kathryn come and sit out for the rest of the game, a good thing, because she looked a little shaken up.

Then Sabrina, one of the five kids left on her team, turned her full and absolute attention to Puck. "You are so dead, _Robin." _

He cackled. "After you, m'lady." And then the dodgeball war commenced. Balls flew everywhere. Within the next five minutes, everyone but Sabrina was out on her team, and only one other boy remained on Puck's: his best friend, Vincent Anthony. Sabrina hurled a ball at the raven-haired, lanky boy, and he tried to catch it. However, the ball slipped from his grasp and he was out, shooting the girl murderous looks.

It had to be totally embarrassing to have a girl get you out.

Puck chucked a big green ball at Sabrina's head. She only just managed to dodge it, and it slammed into the wall behind her with a thunderous boom. "Just give up already!" Puck cried, puffing his chest up. "Boys always win."

"Unfortunately for you, you're a betrayer, and a mean one at that. And betrayers always lose." It made no sense to her classmates, but Sabrina hoped Puck would catch her drift-and not notice the fact that her voice was close to cracking with anger. _I thought we had something. I thought you cared!_

"I never betrayed you, you little worm," Puck said, almost incredulously, while sneering.

Sabrina snorted, dropping her ball. "Oh, really? Then just you tell me why you've been acting like a total jerk lately?"

"I'm always a jerk," Puck retorted.

"Touche, but that isn't the point! You should know! I-"

The whistle blew, and Sabrina found that the coach was glaring at them. The rest of her classmates looked plain confused. "This is supposed to be dodgeball, kids," the coach growled. "Settle your childish disputes elsewhere. Now go and get changed. You've wasted the end of class."

Sabrina stuck her tongue out at Puck, still unwilling to admit defeat. They stalked off in different directions, to their respective changing rooms. Kathryn caught up with Sabrina as soon as she opened the girls' door.

"What was that about?" she asked. Her eyebrows were raised.

Sabrina waved her hand dismissively. "It needed to be said. That nincompoop deserved every word."

"So... he betrayed you?"

Sabrina tugged on her jeans, discarding the worn gym shorts. She shrugged, knowing Kathryn could never understand. "Yeah." Kathryn gave her another inquisitive look, but Sabrina chose to ignore it. She was done talking. She was done with _school_.

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><p>The wet gravel crunched beneath her feet. It had finally stopped raining, but the earth still stank of worms and freshly turned dirt. Sabrina had waited out the rest of the school day-not that it hadn't been torture-and was now on her way home, Daphne trailing along behind her. She knew the little girl was watching her closely. Very closely.<p>

And it wasn't long before her sisters spoke up. "Um, something's wrong, right?"

"No." _Ugh. Too defensive._

"Sabrina, don't lie to me. That's totally _un-_gravy!" Daphne pouted, running up to walk beside Sabrina. The older girl shot her a sideways glance.

"I... you wouldn't understand." _Also, if I told you, I'd never hear the end of it. Neither would Puck, actually_.

Daphne's brow furrowed. Apparently, she didn't like being told she wouldn't understand anything. Sabrina guessed it reminded her about how people always thought she was 'too little'. "You're a jerk."

Sabrina rounded on her sister, her mouth open. "_I'm_ the jerk? Seriously, Daph? Just because I won't tell you something doesn't mean I'm a jerk. You know who's the jerk? Puck's the jerk. He's been a _total_ jerk since... since... since I beat Mirror!"

By now, Daphne looked fairly shocked, and a little smug. "So... Puck's the problem." There was no question in her voice; it was a statement. Sabrina mentally punched herself. Why couldn't she keep any kind of secret about her feelings?

She let out a long sigh. "Isn't he always?"

"Maybe he's lovesick."

"_Daphne!_"

The little girl giggled and took Sabrina's hand, leaning into her. "I'm just saying. Love's difficult."

Her older sister looked down at her with raised eyebrows. "Uh _huh..._ and since when are you the love expert?"

Daphne shrugged. "I've watched Mom and Dad... Briar and Jake... and... you."

Sabrina snorted, but inside, she was tingling. "Riiiiight." They were nearly home, and were now climbing up the small hill, Granny Relda's house perched on top.

Daphne didn't say anymore, but Sabrina could tell that her sister was so sure of herself, her ego had probably expanded to the size of the moon. Crap.

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><p><strong>So... there wasn't much to this chapter, except you got an inside look at Sabrina's feelings. Special thanks to my best friend Kathryn for letting me use her name-and some of her personality (x100, of course, the story-Kathryn is really strange). R&amp;R, as always. Creepier stuff in the next chapter.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh, I almost forgot: **

**DISCLAIMER (for the whole story) : I do not own the Sister's Grimm, or any of the fairy tales involved! Michael Buckley owns SG, and I guess you could say fairy tales are owned by all. **

**R&R! Also, constructive criticism, however defensive I may be about my work, helps all writers, so if you see something, say something.**

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><p>"Thank God it's Friday, indeed..." Sabrina Grimm muttered, running a hand through her silky blonde hair. She was perched on the table beneath her window, peering up at the sky. The rainclouds had slowly moved away, just enough so that she could see the full, fall moon. It reminded her of last week. Of the kiss. She took a deep breath, pushing aside thoughts of murdering a certain faerie. "He's not worth the trouble. If he's going to be a stinkpot, who am I to mourn his decision?"<p>

The door creaked open, startling her. Sabrina turned to see Basil tottering across the threshold, babbling incoherently to himself. She smiled, stood, and picked him up, holding her baby brother close. "What are you doing up here, Bay? Where's Mom?"

"Mommy," he repeated, grabbing a lock of Sabrina's hair and tugging.

"Ouch! No, Basil!" She unclenched his tiny fist and set him on the bed. He rolled on his back and started playing with his feet, crowing baby-talk. She sat down next to him and tickled him right under his chin, his sweet spot. It was amazing how much better Basil always made her feel. Maybe it was their special closeness, the closeness that had come from their near-death experience together. Whatever it was, the tickling made Basil go nuts. He started laughing uncontrollably, giggling that sweet one-year-old sound.

"Beena, Beena!" he called, hiccuping with laughter.

"What's going on in there?" Granny Relda and Veronica suddenly popped their heads in, both of them smiling.

"Aw, he loves it," Veronica said, smiling and picking her son up, who was still giggling. "But it's much past his bedtime. And almost yours, too, Sabrina."

"It's a Friday!" she complained good-naturedly. "C'mon, Mom!"

Veronica shook her head. "It's ten o'clock. Hop to it."

Granny smiled gently when Sabrina's mother left with the baby. "Did you have a good day, _libeling? _You seemed a bit moody at dinner. Puck did, too, now that I think about it."

_Great. Even _Granny_ noticed._ "I'm fine. I think it was just a stomachache." She didn't answer Granny's observations about Puck, though, because she wanted him to be the last thing on her mind.

"Good." Relda leaned down and kissed her granddaughter on the head. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Yup... Wait, Granny?"

Granny Relda paused in the doorway. "Yes, _libeling?_"

"Where's Daphne?" She hadn't noticed her sister since the end of dinner, and if it was ten o'clock now...

"Oh," her grandmother said, chuckling. "She and Red are having a nail-polish party in Red's room. I wouldn't be surprised if you got this room to yourself tonight."

Sabrina did a mental fist-pump. "Sweet. Goodnight, Granny."

"Goodnight, _libeling._" Granny Relda then trotted down the hall to her room, where her door gently closed behind her.

Sabrina didn't want to get in trouble with her mom, so she obeyed Veronica's last request and headed to the bathroom, thoroughly brushing her teeth, washing her face, and combing out her hair. When she was done (pausing only to let Henry in, who was followed by Jake; the house was extremely crowded), she headed back to her room.

And screamed.

What had been a neat, tidy sleeping space before now resembled a terrorist attack. The wallpaper was ripped, the window smashed, clothing scattered around the floor, smoking scorch marks on the ceiling, the light fixture was hanging by a single strand of wiring, and, worst of all, Sabrina thought she saw blood spatters all around the room. How had she not heard the commotion? The state the room was in suggested that a lot of noise had been involved... or magic.

She could hear that people were storming up the staircase, rushing to her aid with raised voices and cries of, "What's wrong? What happened?" Shakily, Sabrina backed out of the destroyed room and shut the door. The sight gave her the chills.

Jake burst out of the bathroom, his face covered with shaving cream, as the family gathered around the girl. "What was that about?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"

Sabrina shook her head, her mouth dry. "No… but I might have been if I had stayed in my room any longer than I did."

Henry strode forward and took his daughter by the shoulders. "Sabrina, what on earth happened?"

She backed away and opened the door.

"Oh, _libeling!_" Granny Relda cried, leaning into Veronica, who looked grim. In her arms, Basil slept, blissfully unaware. "Who could have done this?"

Small footsteps pounded up the stairs, and suddenly Daphne and Red were shoving their way through the group of Grimms. "I heard someone scream!" Daphne exclaimed, biting her palm and getting wet nail polish on her nose. Red simply nodded; she was one of few words.

"There's been an attack," Canis growled. "Daphne, I want you to go get Puck. This better not be one of his pranks."

If this was a prank, Sabrina thought, it most certainly wasn't funny. Besides, Puck didn't usually go for the terror angle. But maybe he had changed?

Her little sister scurried off, although her face revealed she had a million questions to ask when she came back. Henry, Jake, and Canis began picking through what had been the girls' room, looking for evidence. Each wore a hard, angry expression.

When she couldn't bear watching any longer, Sabrina began to help them, lifting up torn books and soiled clothing, avoiding patches of what might be blood. When she came to the bed, stripped of its sheets with the matress at a funny angle, she lifted off a discarded curtain that hung over the headboard. What she saw chilled her to the bone.

It was a symbol. At first, she automatically assumed that it was the Scarlet Hand, coming for revenge—because that made the most sense, and the symbol was painted in red—, but it wasn't that. It looked like some huge animal's pawprint, although she didn't remember learning about any kind of animal that left a print as big as her head and sported six-inch claws.

"Dad?" she said, her voice surprisngly even. "You'd better look at this."

Now the entire family converged on the bed, Red even going so far as to shove past Canis and crawl under Veronica's legs to get up front.

Granny Relda's hand was suspended in the air, as if trying to decide whether or not to cover her mouth or reach out and touch the print. "What is that?"

"Looks like a cat," a new voice announced. They turned to see Puck, walking in with Daphne in tow. "A very _large_ cat."

"What is it? _What_ _is_ _it_?" Daphne echoed Granny's question, jumping up and down to try to see over everyone's shoulders. She eventually just pushed her way to the front, to stand next to Sabrina (who was shooting Puck death-glares).

"I have a suspicion," Jake said finally, running a hand through his hair. "But I don't like it. All the adults will follow me. Kids… why don't you go to Puck's room?"

"No!" Sabrina cried. "I want to come with you. This is _my_ room, after all!"

"You will go to Puck's room until we say you can come out, okay?" Henry said. He sounded extremely tired and worried, and Sabrina knew it would be a bad decision to push her cause any longer, as much as she would like to. So instead, she put on her most irritated face and frowned deeply.

The adults filed out of the room, ushering the kids out, too. The door to Sabrina's room was closed and locked with a key Sabrina didn't know existed, stopping anyone from messing with the crime scene. Then Granny, Canis, Jake, Henry and Veronica went into Canis' room, shutting the door securely behind them and giving the kids stern looks as they went.

"Mom—" Daphne, started, but was rudely interrupted by Henry's muffled: "Go to Puck's room!" Rolling her eyes, she shrugged and strolled down to the door that led to Puck's magical room.

She, at least, didn't have a problem with going into the prankster's realm. Sabrina did.

"What, scared?" Puck taunted, shoving past her.

Sabrina considered this for a moment. He hadn't specified what she was scared _of_, so she answered, "Yes, actually. My room just got ransacked, if you were too busy fawning over yourself to notice."

The faerie sneered at her as they entered his room and started walking along a dirt path. "At least I have something to fawn over."

"That's not what you would have said a week ago," Sabrina muttered, picking up her pace to catch up with Red and Daphne. A few tears pricked her eyes. Puck was a jerk!

Red was marveling over Puck's room, though she'd been there a few times before. "I want a room like this," she said quietly. "It would be on the beach, though. I love the beach."

Daphne smiled. "Yeah! That would be _so_ gravy! Like, a really white beach and blue water, and..."

Sabrina tuned the girls out, shoving her hands in her jeans pockets and trying not to think about how tired she was. She might have fallen asleep elsewhere, but she wasn't going to risk putting her guard down in the Trickster King's home, especially when he was in such a sour mood.

She heard Puck's wings buzz overhead, and immediately ducked down, covering her head with her arms in preparation for something slimy to be poured on her. But instead, he just rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to prank you, Grimm."

Sabrina gave him a look that said, _"Sure, and I'm an Everafter."_

"Geez, harsh," Puck continued. "But anyway... I wanted to tell you something."

Immediately Sabrina was on the defense. "Like what?" she snapped. "I'm ugly? Stupid? I can't do anything right? Because that's how you've treated me since... since..." She couldn't say anything because Daphne and Red and turned their attention to her, so instead she trailed off, glaring at Puck and willing her tears not to fall. Much to her relief, they obeyed.

"No, it's not that-"

"Well I don't want to hear what it is right now, faerie boy! I just _don't!_" Her dad was an idiot, she decided, for trying to make her stay in _this_ room with _this_ faerie. She whirled around, her blonde hair whipping against Puck's face, and ran out of his room, storming down the stairs and collapsing on the couch. She was so angry that even tears evaded her now. Instead, she just shook, clenching her fists.

Sabrina really hadn't known how much anger she'd gathered up in the past week, but she felt every ounce of it now, coursing through her veins, sharpening her senses, and multiplying itself with every angry breath she pulled in. _All of these years, I've been betrayed, tricked, and abused. Just when I'd finally accepted it as a thing of the past, he brings it all back up again!_

Eventually, she drifted off into a deep sleep, her thoughts haunted with a sneering Puck, a huge, clawed shadow, and the terrifying, bloodred print stained on her headboard...

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><p><strong>Um, that felt like a long chapter. To me, at least... I got some writer's block, but I chiseled away at it for a week and eventually came up with this. Please review, even if you're anonymous. Click the button, and tell me what you think, even if it's just a few words. It means a lot. :) <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**So... um... yeah. There's not really much of an intro here, just me saying hello again. I'm sitting in my school library with WriterCat right next to me, who is doing schoolwork that hasn't been assigned yet (she's kind of OCD that way, but i love her!).**

**I would not call this one of my better chapters... I don't know why, I was just not "feeling it" when I wrote it. But it does explain stuff. **

** Anyway, here's the next chapter:**

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><p>Sabrina rolled over, and immediately was blinded by a sharp ray of sunshine. She rolled some more, as to get away from the burning brightness, and ended up falling off of the couch (Wait, I'm on a couch?) with a loud thump. "Ouch," she complained, sitting up and rubbing her temples. The clock on the mantle, propped up with a huge pile of books, read nine fifty-seven. Sabrina was about to go back to sleep when last night's events slammed into her with the force of a semi truck.<p>

Immediately, she stood up and raced upstairs, heading down the hallway to Red's room, where she assumed Daphne would be sleeping. But inside, the bed was neatly made and empty, as if no one had slept here at all. That didn't mean-Oh, great. The girls must have slept in Puck's room. Well, there was no way she was going in there again, not after last night. She might lose her temper bigtime.

The house was quiet as she went in search of the rest of her family. It didn't take her long to realize that no one was there. She had even checked Mirror's old room, where the Hall of Wonders' mirror had shattered into a million pieces the second she had stabbed the Scarlet Hand's master. The only thing in it was the shards of reflective glass, and she left quickly, trying not to remember how her friend had betrayed her.

"Mom? Dad?" she called, starting to feel a little lonely, yet knowing she would receive no answer. "Jake? Granny?" Sabrina was seriously considering checking Puck's room-perhaps she could risk getting Daphne up-when she passed by the front door. A note was taped to its handle, and, in Jake's messy, angular handwriting, it explained why she was receiving no answers.

_Dear Sabrina,_

_We are out investigating a suspect for the crime of the Ransacked Room, as Daphne so happily put it. Don't worry a bit; we left Puck here to protect you. And Elvis, too. When we come back, we'll explain everything to you. I know you're frustrated (this is all Henry's fault, don't worry!), but we need to be absolutely sure._

_Love, JDVHCRRB (your family, duh!)_

Sabrina tore the note in half and threw it in the trash. They'd left her out again! Even Daphne had gotten to go, which meant she was once again left behind... and with Puck. This was probably one of Jake and Daphne's little schemes to try to get them together. It might have worked a week ago. Now, her family might come home to a strangled faerie and a very angry Sabrina.

She stormed up to said faerie's room and barged in, dodging two very messy (and stinky) pranks. "Puck! Puck, guess what they did?" Sabrina found him balled up on his trampoline, drooling, and with Kraven the Deceiver held tightly to his chest. She shoved him, and his bright green eyes popped open. He wiped the drool from his mouth and glared drowsily at her.

"What was that for?" he snapped.

"They left us alone!" Sabrina exploded. "They know who did this to my room and they didn't take me along! They didn't even _tell_ me!"

Puck looked confused as he tossed Kraven away, obviously trying to hide the fact the stuffed unicorn was there in the first place. "Wait... _they_ left _who_?"

"My _family_ left _us_ alone," she answered miserably, gritting her teeth. When he didn't seem to reply, she guided him along. "Alone. Us. That's bad, Puck."

His wings sprouted from his back and he flew up into the air. "Well, duh, Grimm! This means war!"

Sabrina shook her head tiredly, as if she was tired of telling someone something five million times (this was not far from the truth). "No. Uh uh. I am done with war. We aren't fighting while the adults aren't around."

"Fine. Be a wimp. But..." Puck took a deep breath, scrunching up his features. His nose crinkled in the most adorable way. "...About last night, I'm s-so-s-sor-"

Great. Now the stupid faerie was trying to apologize... Not that it wasn't cute, or anything, to watch him struggle over the word, "Sorry." Finally, Sabrina couldn't take it anymore (Puck's faces were getting more and more ridiculous, as if he were struggling with a large lump of bile in his throat), and started to laugh.

"What are you laughing at? The one time I try to apologize, you totally ruin it!" Puck looked totally put out at Sabrina's roars of laughter.

Between the spontaneous giggles, Sabrina choked out, "It's j-just so f-fun-ny! You can't e-even say SORRY!"

Puck rolled his eyes and flew out of the room, telling the girl as he passed, "You're really weird, you know that? I don't know WHY the Old Lady adopted you in the first place..."

"I've been asking myself the same thing about you since you moved in," Sabrina retorted, following him. It probably wasn't smart to be near him, especially if things got even more awkward, but she felt oddly drawn to him this morning. Maybe-for the first time in her life-she was accepting that she needed a little bit of protection. Last night's attack had really freaked Sabrina out, and she was even more freaked out that it had freaked her out at all! **(A/N: I meant for that to be repetitive, for those who CC.)**

"Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly all fine and dandy with the idea, either. Who would want to be this close to someone this ugly?"

Well... maybe some things needed to be sorted out.

Sabrina took a deep breath.

"Um, can you, like, stop insulting me?" She was horrified at how weak and stubborn she sounded, and at the fact that it didn't sound like she wanted it to at all!

Puck guffawed as he popped waffles in the toaster. "Me? The Trickster King? Stop _insulting_? That's like asking Daphne to stop smiling! Impossible, duh!"

"Well, I see your point in that, but, it's just... you've been a jerk lately!" Her tone was now fiercely accusatory.

"Well, excuse me, princess," Puck sneered, leaning casually against the counter as his waffles cooked. Sabrina glared at him from the opposite side of the table. "You haven't been very perky yourself. Wait... is this about gym class? Because if it is, I totally won."

"Puck!" Sabrina complained. "This isn't about gym class. It's about-"

"WOOF!" Something huge and brown bumbled into the room, slamming into Puck and licking his face with a gigantic tongue.

"Elvis, eugh!" the faerie yelped, flying up to the ceiling where the Great Dane couldn't get to him. Sabrina roared with laughter, forgetting all about confronting him about his strange attitude.

"Good boy, Elvis," the girl said, giving Granny's dog a pat on the head (Elvis enjoyed this very much; affection from Sabrina to anyone else but Daphne was rare). "Good boy!"

Puck floated down, his pink wings folding into his back again. "Oh, you're hilarious, Grimm. Being mauled by a dog is really something to laugh at."

"Puck, he was licking you. I think he was more in danger than you; who knows what kind of foreign contaminants you have smeared all over yourself!"

"I took a bath yesterday, remember, stupid?"

The waffles popped as Sabrina waved her had dismissively. "At your rate of getting dirty, you should have one every five minutes."

* * *

><p>Surprisingly, the rest of the morning went quite well. Sabrina ate breakfast, got changed upstairs (picking out clothes from what had just gone through the laundry; her room's door was still securely locked), and began to search for answers about the mystery herself. She wasn't going to wait around helplessly at home while her family did all of the work elsewhere. Maybe a family journal held some clues.<p>

Puck, however, lazed around, made a mess, and tried to prank Sabrina whenever he could (so far, she was successful in stopping all of his attempts). Finally, after she screamed at him for trying to staple her hair to the fridge, he retreated-rather meekly-to his room. The girl hadn't seen from him since, and she relished the silence... never mind that that quiet was a little unnerving, and at times, she wished he was still at her side.

Finally, after two hours of looking (with little results), Sabrina finally got her first clue: _Edwin Grimm's Book of Magical Creatures._ It was old, its binding falling apart and yellowing pages crackling with every turn of a page, but it seemed to her the best chance of finding out who-or what-had trashed her room. It took another half hour of reading about Bastils, the Norwegian Jabberwocky, and the fearsome Gingky Mouse before something caught her eye.

_'Not exactly a human or beast, a Draman is half dragon, half man. They are characterized as having green-tinted skin, yellow eyes, and being unusually beautiful. A Draman has the ability to shape-shift from their human form to one of a dragon, which makes them extraordinarily dangerous, maybe even more than the Jabberwocky. Perhaps the most dangerous and well-known Draman is the evil witch Ma-'_

"You have got to be kidding me!" Sabrina snarled, peering down at the page. A huge waterspout was covering up most of the next few words. "That could have been important!" When the page continued again, Sabrina gleaned a few more facts, but she still knew very little.

_'-eping Beauty, she is thought to have more power than any other Draman. However, those who have encountered her have not survived long, so little information is known.'_

Edwin went on to explain a few more, boring details about Draman, but Sabrina was too frustrated to read on. Instead, she shut the book and and exited Jake's room, where she had been reading. On the way out, a silver gleam caught her eye. The Vorpal Sword, framed in a glass case on his wall. Sabrina allowed herself a small smile. "I beat you, Mirror," she muttered, shutting the door.

After a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, Sabrina decided to take a walk outside. Any other day, she would have done just that the instant it came to her mind, but now, of course, she had to go tell Puck. Granny Relda would flip out if she didn't.

She went into his room and found him sword fighting with a chimpanzee. "Hey, Ugly!" he called, abandoning the fight and raising an eyebrow. "Heard of knocking?"

Sabrina ignored this. "I'm going for a walk. Outside."

"Um, no you aren't." His tone suggested that she were merely a little child who had no idea of what she was doing. "You have to stay inside."

Sabrina mentally slapped herself. Maybe she should have just gone without telling. "Who says?"

"Granny. And your dad, too, probably. I don't want to get my butt kicked for your safety again."

"I'm not going to get into any trouble, pea-brain!"

Puck faked a choking laughter. "Now, where have I heard that one before?"

Sabrina glared at him and left the room, heading for the front door. But as soon as she was outside, the old jalopy pulled in and her family piled out, looking extraordinarily exhausted and cramped.

"_Libeling_!" Granny Relda said, hugging her eldest granddaughter. "Did you see us coming?"

Sabrina wasn't about to reveal she was actually about to wander off on her own, so she lied: "Yes. I want to know exactly what happened... and I also want to share something I found, as well." Well... the second part wasn't a lie.

Daphne and Red zoomed up and each grabbed one of the older girl's hands. "'Brina, you're never going to believe what we discovered!" Daphne said excitedly, biting her free hand's palm. "Uncle Jake thinks-"

"Whoa, chill there, kiddo," Jake said, striding over. "I would prefer it if I were the one to tell her. You're a little... um..."

"She over-exaggerates," Henry put in helpfully, unbuckling (or untying) Basil from the backseat.

Daphne's lower lip protruded in protest. "I'm not _that_ hyper!"

"Don't kid yourself, Daphne," Red murmured quietly, and the two broke out in giggles as they dragged Sabrina into the house.

Once the entire family-even Puck, as Granny had forced him to come downstairs-had settled in the living room, she motioned for Jake to begin.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sure you were upset with us this morning..."

"You have no idea," Sabrina said, getting a little angry. "Why didn't you include me?"

Veronica brushed a strand of dark hair away from her beautiful features. "It was too dangerous, Savvy. If something in our search came up... Well... You were the original target, and we didn't want you in any kind of danger."

Basil cooed his agreement, tugging on his mom's hair. Sabrina didn't say anything. She saw the logic in her family's choice. However, that didn't mean she wasn't still irked. "Go on, Uncle Jake."

"After searching around, and thinking back on the clues left in your room, we came to the rushed conclusion that whatever attacked you had pyrokinetic abilities. Then Daphne suggested that maybe a dragon did it."

Sabrina dipped her head in acknowledgement. "That makes sense... but I found something that fits perfectly with it, too. Hold on." Confused looks followed the girl all of the way upstairs, where she grabbed Edwin's Book. As she walked back down the stairs, she found the page describing the Draman and shoved it into Jake's arms. "Read it. I know you can't make out everything, but..."

The whole family leaned in, Puck giving Sabrina accusatory looks. "Why didn't you tell me that you'd discovered whatever this is?"

"Gee, I must have forgotten," Sabrina said, rather sarcastically.

"Sabrina," Veronica warned.

Jake's eyes whizzed along the page for a minute before he finally looked up. "Sabrina Grimm, I'm proud of you."

"What is it?" Henry, Granny Relda, and Mr. Canis all asked at once.

"'_The Draman has the ability to shape-shift from their human form to one of a dragon, which makes them extraordinarily dangerous, maybe even more than the Jabberwocky,'_" Jake read, looking up seriously. "I think Sabrina found out what came into her room."

"But there's no proof," Henry said, as if still in denial that anything that dangerous could be after his daughter.

Jake frowned. "It makes sense to me. But this needs more investigating. This name-" he pointed to the messy name that began with 'Ma' and ended with 'eping Beauty', "-means something."

Daphne yanked the book from his hands, and he cried in protest. "Hold on, Uncle Jake," she said, peering down at it. "Aw, shoot!"

"Yeah, Daph, it's ruined," Sabrina said, her eyebrows furrowing. Hadn't she already made that clear?

"No, not that! I wish Briar Rose were still alive!" Immediately, Jake's whole expression collapsed to one of complete sadness. "Sabrina, 'eping Beauty' means Sleeping Beauty!"

Sabrina felt extremely stupid. How hadn't she seen that? It was so obvious now! And then... everything made sense. "Wait, who was the evil witch in Sleeping Beauty?"

When everyone else frowned, thinking, Granny Relda spoke up without hesitation. "Maleficent. But no one has seen her in ages, _libeling_."

"Maybe that's how she likes it," Puck said. "If I were a super villain like her, I'd want to live in hiding." His eyes glazed over. "She's so cool..."

"She tried to kill my daughter!" Henry protested. Mr. Canis put a gentle-yet restraining-hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Not, today, Henry. It's not worth it." Sabrina's father shrugged the hand off, but he didn't speak again.

"Well," Veronica broke in, "if it was Maleficent, I want to go find her as soon as possible. I don't want Sabrina, or anyone here, to be in any kind of danger from a... a..."

"Draman," Sabrina supplied miserably. She had been hoping that they wouldn't agree with her, that her suspicions could be crushed. But everything made sense. Maleficent, a particularly powerful Draman-and a sorceress, no less-was after her life.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't want to sound like some of the other annoying authors, but I would like at least 1 (possibly 2... plz?) review before I put out the next chapter. C'mon. Everyone who reads this-ANONYMOUS OR NOT-please leave a review. Even if it's just: "this sux". <strong>

**please. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Yup. The last chapter was random. I hope you like this one more. I'm just kind of getting the story started. I've already written half of the chapter after this, and I swear, there's better stuff than this crap that's leading up to it. :) This one has more drama about The Kiss, for those of you that read (plz?) my Sisters Grimm: The War and Beyond story.**

**And I'm also kind of mad that when I have a lot of hits for my stories, only like 3 PEOPLE REVIEW. (Oh, and if you did, kudos for you!) C'mon guys. It sucks to just sit here all day and not get feedback.**

**I'm done blathering. Here's the chapter. Sorry for the mistakes, I copy and paste things from my iPad to here, and all of the italics and stuff disappear, so I have to quickly go through things.**

* * *

><p>On Monday, Granny Relda gave both Puck and Sabrina stern talks about staying close to each other at all times. For a long while on Sunday, she had been debating whether or not to send them to school at all. But finally, Veronica and Jake and reasoned with her, saying that this was Snow White's school, and not much could really happen without the princess getting involved. Henry, of course, had taken his mother's side, but had been consequently shouted down.<p>

"Fine," Granny Relda had finally sighed. "I just want my _libelings_ to all be safe."

And so now, Puck was flying Sabrina and Daphne to school, making rude remarks about their combined weight: "Geez, you sure get enough to eat, don't you?" "Grimm, your diet doesn't include lead, does it?" "My arms are about to fall off from carrying your fat bodies!"

Finally, Sabrina punched him in the gut, earning her an early drop off and a five minute walk to school. _Granny would be _real_ pleased with how things are going so far,_ Sabrina thought sarcastically, finally opening the school's front doors and hurrying to her locker. Kathryn and Carmen met her for homeroom, armed with questions.

"Spill the 'deets, Sabrina," Kathryn said, propping her elbows up on her desk. "What was Friday all about?"

Sabrina sighed. "I had a stomachache... I guess it must have messed up my emotions, or something. I'm really sorry for creeping you guys out." Her prepared lie sounded even weaker than it had at home, but it seemed to have satisfied her friends.

"So," Carmen said, shooting Kathryn a loaded look, "Rynnie has something to tell you." She rolled her eyes at Sabrina and nudged her smaller friend in the ribs.

"Ouch, Carmen!" Kathryn complained, but grinned proudly as she leaned in closer to Sabrina. "Okay..." she took a deep breath. "Today in History... I'm going to ask Robin out."

It was as if someone had punched Sabrina in the most sensitive part of her gut. She felt like a fish out of water, gasping for air. She felt like ripping Kathryn's head off. She felt like crying. (She was also embarrassed she'd forgotten about the dance, but the other emotions completely overrided this one.)

But she swallowed her feelings, where they formed an angry ball in the pit of her stomach, and answered, "W-wow, that's great!"

"I know!" Kathryn squealed. "I just hope he'll say yes..."

Carmen smiled as she shook her head. "You crack me up, Kathryn. Who wouldn't say yes to you?"

This seemed to brighten Kathryn up, and her already happy mood was now downright giddy. Sabrina, however, was now in an all-time low. _Someone wants to kill me physically, and now Kathryn's slowly, painfully, killing me mentally._ Couldn't she catch a break in her life? Because so far, it sucked.

At lunch, instead of chatting with her friends, Sabrina pulled out her math homework and started working on the problems (oh, how she hated advanced math!). Usually, she would have saved it to do at home, but she couldn't stand the way Kathryn kept glancing at Puck. Just as she was finishing up _'5(y-3)12x+9'_, she saw Puck throw a very sexy wink at her best friend. Her pencil snapped in half and her eyes iced over.

Kathryn had seen it, too, and Carmen had to pound her on the back to restart the small girl's heart. "That's it," Kathryn finally declared. "I can't wait. I'm asking Robin out now."

"_Now_?" Sabrina nearly choked. "Shouldn't you wait for History?"

Kathryn shook her head, smiling. "No... I just can't! He's so adorable..."

"All right, all right," Sabrina cut in, irritated. "Go do it." She picked up the part of the pencil with the point of led and finished her last problem, closing the book. Her eyes followed Kathryn as her friend weaved through the room, eventually coming up to Puck's table. A very large lump suddenly formed in Sabrina's throat.

The faerie seemed like he was playing it cool, lounging back on his seat and grinning up at Kathryn. Then the slight girl folded her hands behind her back-Sabrina could see that she was wringing them-and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she looked remarkably more confident. Sabrina watched her mouth form the fateful question. She watched in horror as Puck's grin widen. But what made her utterly melt down was when Puck turned to Sabrina, caught her eye, smiled evilly, and nod at Kathryn.

Sabrina's chair was empty hardly a blink of an eye later. She shoved her belongings in her locker, and was halfway out the door when a light but firm hand caught her by her outstretched arm. Instincts kicked in, and with a quick flip of her wrist, her attacker should have been writhing on the floor by now.

But they weren't. With a complicated movement of her torso, Snow White steadied herself and turned Sabrina toward her, looking sadly down at the younger girl. "Sabrina... I think we need to talk."

* * *

><p>"So, what's wrong?" Ferryport Landing's only headmistress leaned across her desk and looked deep into Sabrina's icy blue eyes. "You look very, very sad."<p>

Sabrina looked away uncomfortably. Even if she could explain to the beautiful princess what was wrong, she could never express just how badly she had been betrayed.

"I... just... well..." Years of lying helped her come up with an explanation. "It's what's been going on lately... stuff at home, Briar, and I keep seeing Daphne, tied up and unconscious, while Mirror mocked us..."

"You've been through a lot," Snow White sympathized. "Maybe you should take the rest of the day off. I don't like to see you this traumatized, so I'll notify Relda immediately. You can wait in the main office."

Sabrina exited Snow's room and collapsed in one of the old brown chairs in the waiting area. Her head was spinning. She couldn't wait to get home, and crawl into her bed, and cry, and cry, and-

Oh, how stupid of her. Her bed was destroyed. This made the tears want to come even faster, and she bit down on her lip so hard it started to bleed a little. After a few minutes, Snow peeked her head out. She must have seen how terrible Sabrina looked, because she came over and gathered the girl up in a hug. Usually, Sabrina would have fought back, but this was Snow White, and every rule has its exceptions. "Your grandmother said it was fine if you came home. She's very worried. Oh-and she asked me to get Puck. He'll be going home with you. I'll take Daphne home myself after school."

"_Puck_?" Sabrina asked. "Why? I don't need him!" _Plus, he's the reason I'm mad in the first place!_

"Well, from what I've heard, it sounds like you might be in danger." The princess swept out of the room, leaving a stunned Sabrina. She returned to find the girl exactly the way she had been, except for this time, Puck was trailing behind her.

"Why do I have to leave early?" he complained. "It's Grimm's problem, not mine! _Grimm's_!"

"Robin," Snow scolded, frowning at him. "Take her home. And since when have you complained about leaving early?"

"Fine, fine," Puck scowled, stalking out of the room. Sabrina met Snow's eyes and shrugged sadly before following the angry faerie. As the school's doors closed behind them, Sabrina kicked a large rock that ricocheted off a tree and bounced down to the grass.

"So," she began, speaking through tight lips. "I heard Kathryn was going to make a move."

Puck's chest puffed up. "She knows a cool guy when she sees one," he bragged. "But yeah, we're dating now."

Sabrina felt that a nice and hard right hook would be appropriate right about now, but forced herself not to punch him. "That's pretty neat." _No. I will not cry. I will NOT cry._

"What, are you jealous, Grimm?"

"Jealous of what?" she snapped. "No offense, but I'd rather not date a guy with a face like a baboon's butt."

"Baboon's butt?" Puck cried. "Look who's talking, ratface!"

She had had enough. "I-HATE-YOU!" Sabrina launched herself at him, tackling down into the hard-packed dirt and punching him all over, tears spilling down her cheeks. She was on emotional overload, her anger coursing through her veins and fueling the punches.

"OW!" Puck yelped, finally pulling away from the furious girl and flying ten feet up in the air so that she could only shake her fists at him from the ground. "Geez, has the puberty virus got to your head or what?" he asked, nursing a bruise.

"Why-" Sabrina asked, "-_why_ are you doing this? Was last week all a joke? Was it all a great big joke for you? Because it _isn't_ _funny_!"

He looked confused for a moment, and then his eyes widened. "You thought I was serious?"

Oh, that stung. Sabrina whirled around and sprinted as fast as she could in the general direction of home. She could hear him flying after her, calling out, "Grimm, Grimm, wait!", but she didn't listen.

The kiss-that special moment she had treasured so close to her heart-had been a lie.

And that was inexcusable.


	6. Chapter 6

**Good evening, everyone... Gosh, this is bothering me. So I reset my iPad, and (thank goodness) my story had saved, so here it is. But the format that I'm typing in the Doc Manager now looks really weird, so I'm hoping it doesn't turn up awkwardly.**

**Anyway. Maleficent finally shows up here. In Sabrina's head. Poor girl. Sorry for the slow update. REVIEW!**

A twig snapped, and Sabrina jumped a little. She had been taking a short detour through a stretch of woods, and should only have about half a mile left before she reached home, but not only had she lost Puck, a storm was gathering overhead, too. Thick branches intertwined with one another overhead, blocking out most of the remaining sunlight, and every squirrel and rabbit that passed by her seemed to be watching her. Carefully.

Maybe she shouldn't have attacked Puck. Wait-no. That was the wrong thing to say. He deserved more than a simple fistfight. Sabrina almost wished she could rip his wings out again. Almost. That stupid cocoon would probably just follow her again.

Thunder rumbled nearby, and a chill breeze swept through the woods. "Puck, if you're nearby, can I get a lift?" she asked, biting her lip. No reply. "Well this is just wonderful," she muttered.

After another five minutes, she was fairly sure she was almost near the end of the shortcut, when her whole body froze. It was as if she was stuck in a block of ice; she could not move if she tried. It was even difficult to breathe. "Achk," was all she could manage.

And then a voice began to speak to her. _"Why, hello there."_ It was unmistakably female, but its accent was ancient, one of a culture so old it was indistinguishable. _"I'm sure you're quite terrified right now... as you should be. You see, I've been watching you, Sabrina Grimm. Very closely. And I'm not very happy."_ The thunder rumbled again. Closer. Sabrina began to breathe harder-if it was even possible. Then the voice began to take on a meaner, more sinister tone. _"You killed my lover, Sabrina. You killed the man I adored! That is unforgivable, taking one's love away. You of all people should know that, shouldn't you?"_

Okay, this was getting too personal. But try as she might, it seemed as though every cell in her body was frozen. This had to be magic. But-why wasn't her addiction acting up? _"So I ask one thing. Let me kill you, and I will spare the ones you love. Let me reap your soul and cast it into the depths of Hell, and they will live. Let me have... revenge. And if you try to tell anyone, or resist me... well... let's just say the protection on your granny's home isn't very strong, is it? Your room proves that much."_

Lightning flashed across the sky, and suddenly Sabrina was free again, her head aching with the woman's laughter. She collapsed on the ground, shaking, her eyes huge, one word now pounding at the forefront of every thought: Maleficent. The evil witch had just spoken in her mind-she was sure of it!

As raindrops began to fall, she clambered to her feet and ran blindly in a random direction. By a stroke of luck, she stumbled out onto the road. But now Sabrina had a pounding headache, and her kneeds were suddenly very weak. The girl forced herself to go to the side of the road-getting hit by a car was NOT the way she wanted to go-and finally fell to the ground for good. Rain washed over her face as Maleficent's words echoed in her mind.

_"Let me kill you... Let me reap your soul and cast it to the depths of Hell... You killed my lover, Sabrina... This is unforgivable, taking one's love away... You of all people should know that, shouldn't you? Shouldn't you? Shouldn't you? SHOULDN'T YOU? SHOU-"_

"Sabrina! Not again!"

Sabrina blinked. Her eyelids felt extraordinarily heavy. She was in her parents' bed, and surrounding it was Daphne, Henry, Veronica (Basil tucked in her arms), Red Riding Hood, Mr. Canis, Uncle Jake, and Granny Relda. Each had a very worried expression, but Daphne most of all. She had been the one to shout.

"Oh, _libeling_, you're awake!" Granny Relda exclaimed. "Puck found you lying out in a puddle of rain, and he brought you here... Oh, we were so scared something had happened..."

Henry looked grim. Sabrina could tell he was thinking of ways to blame this on magic. (She wasn't about to tell him that he probably wasn't far from the truth.)

She was about to open her mouth and spill out the details of the horrific voice in her head, and what it said she had to do, but remembered something: if Maleficent could get into the house- and destroy a room!-she could kill her family. And Sabrina couldn't risk that, especially now that baby Basil was here. So she lied.

"I was coming home early-you knew that, Granny-and I must have tripped and fallen. Hit my head on something, I guess." She tried to look sheepish, and failed. Although most of her family seemed convinced, Daphne was staring at her, her eyes narrowed. Sabrina stopped herself from sighing. She'd have to find a more convincing lie to satisfy her little sister. But luck was on her side, because Daphne didn't say anything aloud.

However, after everyone was done fussing over her and left the room, the younger girl still remained. "Okay, Sabrina. What really happened? Because I know that you are lying." She looked a bit angry.

"Well..." Sabrina began. She honestly couldn't think of anything that would convince Daphne. "I just can't tell you, Daph. I'm sorry."

"Sabrina! This isn't about my age, is it?" Daphne cried.

Sabrina was quick to explain. "No, no, of course not. But if I told you... ugh, I just can't!"

Daphne's eyes narrowed. "You don't think you can trust me, don't you? You think I'd tattle. You think I'm a _liability_!" Tears sparkled in her brown eyes.

"Daphne-" Sabrina cried, slipping out of bed and putting her arms around the littler girl. However, they were shoved away.

"Well, I'm not little anymore, Sabrina. I'm eight years old! Why don't you trust me?"

Her older sister could take it no longer. "Because it involves a life or death situation, Daphne!" she exploded. "I don't want you to get hurt!" Immediately, Daphne was quiet. Her eyes were huge, and her mouth was open slightly.

"S-Sabrina," she whispered, swallowing bravely. "You don't have to keep those kinds of secrets from me. We're sisters, remember? Sisters."

Sabrina was choked up. Daphne meant the world to her. If Maleficent was listening, she couldn't say anything now that could hurt the small girl. But she couldn't just straight out lie to her anymore, either. That was definitely NOT going to help their already rocky relationship. "Daphne... I can't tell you the entire truth. But let's just say that when I killed Mirror... a few people weren't happy with me. People like... well... maybe like the ones that destroyed my room. They have grudges against me. And they intend to get revenge."

For a minute, her little sister was speechless. And then she began to speak, softly, but with an adult quality that surprised Sabrina. "Look... 'Brina... I know we have our differences... you don't exactly love it here in Ferryport Landing, and you're a lot more uptight than I am, and sometimes I get mangry at you-"

"Wait, what's mangry?"

"Angry and mad. But, continuing: We're sisters, Sabrina. We're... we're the Sisters Grimm. We should work together. You shouldn't hide stuff from me, or from Granny Relda, or Mom, or Dad, or Puck, for that matter. You've got to stop pretending like you've got the weight of the world resting on your shoulders. You have a pretty darn huge family to help you!" Daphne looked pleadingly up at her sister. "I don't want you to die."

"But what if it's the only way, Daphne? What if you could all be safe?" Sabrina whispered.

"Then there's got to be another way," Daphne said firmly, her gaze hardening. "If this person-and I think it's got to be Maleficent, if Granny's right-is really after you, she isn't gonna get to you. Or anyone. Okay?"

"Um... Daphne?" Sabrina ask, fighting tears. "I sorta kinda really love you."

* * *

><p>In the morning, Sabrina was about to roll out of bed and make herself some breakfast-school was out of the question, Granny had commanded firmly last night-when she saw a piece of paper on her bedsheets.<p>

No, not another threat from that miserable Maleficent! But it wasn't. In scrabbly, toddler-style handwriting, someone had written, _'Hey weirdo i'm sorry can we talk about it? i don't know what ive done wrong. sinserely the trickster king'._

"This better be good," Sabrina grumbled. She wasn't really in the mood to delve deeper into her emotional problems when she had a maniacal Draman on the loose, looking to kill her. But she couldn't deny that she liked Puck, and would like to salvage as much of their broken relationship as possible. Not that Daphne had to know that.

She clambered out of bed and checked the clock: 8:58. Everyone should be at school. When she got downstairs, she saw only Uncle Jake lounging on the sofa, browsing a family journal. "Hey, kiddo," he said cheerfully. "How's your head?"

"Fine, now, thanks." _Fine, as in Maleficent hasn't invaded it in the last few hours._

"That's good, that's good..."

Sabrina looked around, listening for any sounds of activity. "Where's the rest of the family?"

Uncle Jake made a face. "Your Granny's out running errands-food and stuff, you know-, Henry, Veronica, and Canis are scouring the town for any news of Maleficent, Daphne and Red are at school, Basil's sleeping, Puck's up in his room faking a sickness that Mom believed, and I'm stuck on babysitting duty."

"You don't sound very happy."

"You'd better believe it. Oh, I bought doughnuts last night so we could survive this morning; they're in the kitchen if you want some."

Sabrina's blue eyes widened. "Oh, yes, please!" Any prospect of real food was, in essence, a miracle to the girl. She raced to the kitchen and wolfed down two glazed doughnuts, washing it down with a glass of milk. When she came back out, Uncle Jake was changing the just-awoken Basil's diaper, making a disgusted face as he did so. Sabrina took a moment to laugh at him before heading back upstairs, Puck's note at the forefront of her mind.

What was she supposed to say to him? _I'm really sorry I attacked you, I mean, getting cheated out of the best moment of my life is no excuse._ Yeah freaking right.

She barged into his room to find him working devotedly on a bigger (and probably stinkier) glop grenade. "Heard of knocking, lately?" he snapped.

She bit back a scathing retort. "I got your note. Seriously, have you heard of spelling and grammar?"

"Well, you got the gist of it, that's what matters, right?" He finally looked up, his emerald eyes piercing. She noticed he had a scratch about three inches long running from his temple to his cheek, and, with a start, realized it had probably been her fingernails.

"Okay, sorry. So..." Sabrina kept her tone icy cold.

Puck stood, coming to stand merely inches away from her. "I want to know why you very rudely assaulted me," he said, quite haughtily.

"I think you should know!" Sabrina hissed, her anger bubbling up. She had to force it down; she had lost her temper about this subject one too many times.

"That's no excuse," he retorted, his pink wings sprouting from his back. "I suffered greatly."

Sabrina snorted. "If that's what great suffering is, you're even more of an ugly freak baby than I thought."

"Watch it, stinkpot," Puck threatened, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "I've saved your butt one too many times for you to be pissed about a kiss. One that you usually wouldn't have cared about."

Sabrina's muscles tensed. She couldn't do this; not now, not with this particular fairy boy. "I don't know why I even bother," she said quietly, icily.

"Fine, then. Leave!" Puck yelled.

And Sabrina had every intention of doing so, if it hadn't been for her sudden inability to move.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all of my reviewers and favoriters! Love you guys! :)**

**Ugh. I am having formatting problems. Stupid FanFic added a space to every line, so I have to go back and delete those, and then an extra line between every sentence. WTF? Kill...kill...kill...**

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><p><em>Flashback: <em>

_"Fine, then. Leave!" Puck yelled._

_And Sabrina had every intention of doing so, if it hadn't been for her sudden inability to move._

* * *

><p>She immediately collapsed, and a wave of anger, fury so powerful it made her scream in agony, washed over her entire being. The female voice-Maleficent's voice-boomed in the depths of her brain, establishing the beginning of what was surely going to be a migrane.<p>

_"Stupid girl,"_ it raged. _"Didn't I tell you not to speak of me to anyone? You betrayed me to your sister!"_

"No!" Sabrina gasped, writhing on the ground. She could see Puck, frozen in shock above her, his mouth wide open, trying to process what was happening. But she didn't have time to worry about him. She was more concerned about the evil Draman's intentions-like frying her brain or something. "No, please!"

_"I thought we had a deal. Your life for your family. It was going to be as simple as that, Sabrina. But, no, you decided to make it difficult. You decided to play unfairly. You killed my love, my Mirror, and will not pay!"_

The pain flashed through her again, but Sabrina still caught a vital piece of evidence: Maleficent had loved Mirror, the traitor, and wanted her to give her life in return. "What-what good will it do you?" she hissed in reply. Puck, who had knelt down next to her, shook her.

"Snap out of it, Grimm! You're talking nonsense!" But Sabrina couldn't reply. She had to focus on Maleficent.

_"What good will it do? Ha! My love had always told me that you were his favorite Grimm offspring, even more than your magical sister. Then you just had to go and kill him. You've angered a lot of very powerful Everafters, darling, but none so much as me. And now you have risked your entire family's lives. Stupid child... stupid, foolish child..."_

Sabrina, weak with pain, screeched terribly and latched on to Puck's arm, her fingers digging into his flesh. "I didn't mean to! I didn't know, honestly!" she screamed. "Please, don't kill them!"

_"Family is your weakness, Grimm, and you will do well to realize this. If you wish to spare them-and all of the other humans-from my wrath, you will calmly meet me in the woods tonight at 11:15, where we will have a talk... and the deed shall be done."_

Sabrina's vision blanked, and she could almost feel Maleficent's presence leave her mind. Every ounce of strength drained itself from her body in one swift motion, and she was suddenly still, her eyes closed, breathing even. As aware as she was to the outside world, inside, she was shell-shocked and frightened-not to mention almost completely limp with exhaustion.

"JAKE! JAKE, COME UP HERE!" Puck roared. Then, he turned back to Sabrina. "Gah! What am I supposed to do now?" he muttered, hovering over her. A minute later, the door banged open, and Sabrina could hear her uncle stride over.

"What did you do to her?" the older man demanded. "Spit it out!"

"I didn't do anything!" Puck defended. "We were arguing-"

"Typical," Uncle Jake muttered.

"-and then she just froze, fell to the ground, and started screaming, like she was trying to plead with someone. Dude, it was super creepy."

Sabrina felt a rush of air as someone-being Uncle Jake-leaned down next to her. "'Brina? Sabrina, we need you to be strong here. Did Maleficent try to contact you?"

"The Draman witch?" Puck asked, incredulous. "Seriously? That's so-"

"Hush, Puck," Jake snapped. He brushed a strand of Sabrina's hair from her cheek and tested her pulse. "Sabrina... please."

"I don't think she's going to wake up right now."

"I kind of guessed," Uncle Jake replied sarcastically. "Well, at least Henry's not here. He'd totally flip..." He sighed. "I'm going downstairs to go call them. They'll want to be here when she wakes up."

There were a few muffled footsteps and then Uncle Jake exited Puck's room.

Now, only Puck and Sabrina (and whatever chimps were roaming around) were left alone. And while Sabrina could sense everything around her, Puck thought she was completely unconscious. The girl shoved away an embarrassing thought:_ This would be a great time for a secret kiss._ It only made her more uncomfortable about last week, however much she would have secretly liked it. Plus, Puck was dating Kathryn now, damn him.

The two sat in silence for a while-rather, Puck sat in silence; Sabrina was a heap on the floor, gathering her strength as the migrane began to take hold and sorting out Maleficent's words. Eventually, Puck spoke up.

"Knowing you, you're faking it, right?" He received no answer. The faerie sighed, and suddenly Sabrina felt a gentle finger on her cheek. Wherever it brushed, it left her tingling. "You'd be a lot more appealing if you didn't yell so much. And didn't judge so much. And didn't stink so much."

Okay, that deserved a response. Sabrina shifted and opened her eyes just enough to glare at him. "Thasnotfunny."

Puck pretended not to be surprised-however, the finger on her cheek disappeared really fast-and put on a mock-scared face. "Ooh, the dead awakens!"

Sabrina rubbed her temples, her headache pounding through her skull. "Like you care. Ouch..."

"Well..." the faerie mumbled, shifting uncomfortably. "It wasn't exactly a roller coaster ride watching you writhe on the floor like a marionet."

Before either could say anything more-Sabrina was just happy Puck _might_ have cared-the door opened and in strode Uncle Jake, armed with a fluffy blanket. "Oh, 'Brina," he called, smiling with relief. "Good. You're up. Look; I'll take you into the living room and then we're going to have a serious talk."

"I'd rather rest..."

He shook his head. "I'll get you some ibuprofen, but I want you to tell me everything while it's still fresh in your mind."

"Hey, let her sleep!" Puck said, rather indignantly. He received two very confused looks for his efforts, and blushed, muttering something about 'puberty virus' and 'stupid girls'.

Uncle Jake helped Sabrina to her feet, where she almost immediately saw stars and collapsed into his arms. When he started to pick her up off her feet, she shook her head. "No! I can do it." She didn't want to look weak, or seem helpless-especially in front of Puck. It was embarrassing in the worst way.

They made it-rather haphazardly-down the stairs, and Sabrina was relieved to see the couch as she flopped onto it, and even more happy to see a glass of water and an Advil. Finally, Uncle Jake sat in the opposing armchair and set about quizzing her.

"Okay. I want to know everything. Firstly, has this happened before?"

_Crap. Just the question I wanted to avoid._ "Um... yes?"

Uncle Jake looked scandalized. "What? When? Sabrina, why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I'm going to kill us all," the girl groaned. "She's blackmailing me... and if I tell you... well... we're screwed anyway, if what she just said is true... so..." She launched into the whole story, starting with the episode in the woods, collapsing in the road, and finally ending up with the excruciatingly painful mental intrusion in Puck's room.

When she was finished, Uncle Jake looked grave. "Sabrina, she can't be able to get into your mind anymore. We need to block her out. Permanently. If she can cause you that much pain..." He trailed off for emphasis.

"Wait..." Sabrina was confused. "She threatened to kill us all, Jake. Shouldn't you be more worried about that?"

He sat back in the chair and smiled easily. "Sabrina. We'll survive. C'mon. We are Grimms. It's what we do. Survive, I mean. If Maleficent thinks she can get through to us that easily, she's sorely mistaken."

"But she trashed my room! She's half-freaking-dragon! She's a sorceress! She's-"

"Sabrina. Stop." Uncle Jake was completely serious now. "There's one of her, and... well... a lot of us. What she's doing is wrong. Her 'lover' was a traitorous mutt, and her reasoning for revenge is screwy. We'll stand to fight till the end, okay? There's plenty of room for more enchantments around the house. As soon as everyone's home tonight, we'll discuss what to do. Now, how about you get some rest? Just crash here on the couch, okay?"

He got up and left her, murmuring something about how he had to change Basil's diaper. Sabrina curled up in a ball, and, much to her chargrin, let a tear slip. She had taken a risk when telling Daphne even as little as she had, but now she was gambling ten lives, possibly more. How could she be so selfish? As much as she knew Maleficent was being ridiculous, that she shouldn't have to die for saving humankind, it made more sense to her to follow through with Maleficent's demands than to risk everyone's lives-especially with Basil, who deserved so much more than just a year and a half of life-most of it with an evil lunatic.

* * *

><p>Sabrina must have drifted off, because when she woke up, it was past lunchtime. She rolled off of the couch, and thanked a higher power that her headache was gone. She also made a promise to herself that if Maleficent tried to come into her mind again today, she was going to put up a heck of a fight.<p>

As she began to start towards the kitchen, she was intercepted by a very concerned Henry Grimm. "Sabrina!" he said, sounding most relieved. "Jacob told me what happened, what she did to you. Don't worry, he thinks he found a spell that will block her from your mind permanently, and stop her from spying on us."

Sabrina again voiced her concerns. "But she's planning to kill you guys, Dad. Plus, she expects me in the woods tonight so she can sacrifice me or something like that. We should put enchantments up around the house first."

Henry shook his head. "She's a sorceress. If we let her know-through you-what kind of spells we're going to be putting up, she'll find a way to counteract them. We're going for the secrecy angle here."

Sabrina stared at him, her eyebrows raised. "Yeah, and you pretty much ruined it if she was listening."

Henry pulled his daughter into a hug. "That's just a risk we're going to have to take. We can't leave you out of everything-much as I'd like to."

"Thanks, Dad," Sabrina said sarcastically, hugging back with a smile and then going over to make herself a salami sandwich. "Did you guys pull Daphne and Red out of school early?"

Her dad nodded, handing her the meat from the fridge. "Yes. We couldn't risk them being at school, even with Snow White and other good Everafters there to protect them. You'd better believe we're all very worried." Sabrina took a bite of her sandwich and sat down in the dining room. Henry patted her on the back. "I'll go tell the rest of the family you're up."

_Great. Now I'm going to have to answer _more_ questions_, Sabrina complained to herself, watching her father go up the stairs. Minutes later, Daphne, Red, and even Puck showed up downstairs. The faerie was telling Daphne about Sabrina's 'meltdown'. "...Yeah, and then she collapsed and starting screaming. I thought she was rabid!" He threw a wink at Sabrina, who glowered at him.

"You would have done the same if she'd been in _your_ mind," she replied.

Puck shrugged. "Nah. I'm too tough."

It was Red who spoke up this time. "No, Puck, you don't know what you're saying. Sometimes, the Master used to invade my mind, and tell me things." She rubbed her temples with a worried expression, as if trying to remember his words. "I don't know exactly what he would tell me, but I do know it was painful. Beyond painful. It was torture. Even you, however tough you may be, would probably beg for mercy. It's that bad." She then blushed and looked at the ground shyly. Sabrina smiled.

"Good for you, Red," she said, giving her a tentative pat on the back. Although she hadn't gotten over all of the barriers between herself and Red Riding Hood, she wasn't afraid of dishing out a compliment every once and a while. Sabrina knew the little girl was extremely shy.

"So..." Daphne said, twisting one of her braids. "I guess the only thing that I can thank you for is pulling me out of school."

"Hey, that's Dad's problem," Sabrina said, smiling slightly. "He's the overprotective one."

They were interrupted when Uncle Jake stomped down the stairs, a crooked, scratched, bloodred amulet in hand. "C'mere, Sabrina. I think I have a cure for Maleficent's meddling."

Although Sabrina was worried that her addiction might act up again, she was also extremely keen to be rid of the Draman's voice in her head, so she walked over to her uncle. "What do I have to do?"

"Well, first things first: lie down." When Sabrina gave him a confused look, he directed her to the couch, where she settled down. "Then, I'm going to place the amulet on your forehead, and say a few words. I have no idea what will happen after that-"

"_What?_"

"-but Granny says it should work just fine." Uncle Jake laughed at her horrified expression and placed the stone on her forehead. It was hot, and not just from being in his palm for a while. Then he flipped through a book from one of the many pockets of his coat and began to read. "_Achmed esalut corega. Freite iusta corineth osterge!_" He repeated it several times, much to the girl's confusion. It didn't sound like any language she'd ever heard of. And then, suddenly, the amulet began to glow scarlet.

Daphne and Red let out synchronized gasps. Puck bellowed, "Cool!" Sabrina was, by now, entirely wrapped up in what looked like a colorful cocoon. As Jake continued to chant, a new set of voices joined him, although they spoke only in Sabrina's mind. They repeated the same thing: "_Achmed esalut corega. Freite iusta corineth osterge!_" Her vision blurred. The world spun. Her mind seemed to becoming more and more detached, drifting away from her body, the voices chanting ever louder, Daphne was now screaming, and Uncle Jake was still speaking-

And then it was finished. Sabrina opened her eyes to the gloom of the living room; all of the lightbulbs had been spontaneously shattered. Milky white fragments of glass were scattered everywhere. Daphne and Red were cowering under the coffee table, and Puck was curled up in a ball on the floor, where he had been protecting his head. When Sabrina sat up, she saw that Uncle Jake was still standing, a perfect circle of glass-free floor surrounding him. She was a little disturbed when she found the same thing had happened to her, too.

"Is... is it done?" she asked. Daphne peered out from under the table, brushing a piece of glass away from her hair.

"That... was so... freaking... awesome!" she whispered, grinning. Puck sat up with a similar smile on his face.

"Yeah!" he agreed, giving Daphne a high-five. Red Riding Hood, however, seemed to be feeling the way Sabrina felt: a bit sick. She crawled out from under the coffee table and picked her way through the glass bits until she stood next to Uncle Jake.

"Is everything okay down there, _libelings?_" Granny Relda called from somewhere upstairs.

"Everything's perfectly fine, Mom! Sabrina's cured!" Uncle Jake yelled in response. Then he turned to survey the damage.

"Well. It seems we have a bit of cleaning up to do, doesn't it?"

* * *

><p><strong>All righty, then. That's done. So, as always, review with your opinion of the chapter. I've been wanting to do an Uncle Jakemagic scene, and finally got the chance to overdo a simple spell. Typical Anna. **

**Hope you liked the trace amounts of Puckabrina here! I'll try to include more of Kathryn and Puck's *doomed* relationship in the next few chapters. **

**Ugh. So much writing to do. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back! Thanks for everyone that screamed at me to update! XD I've been really super busy… I'm also going to try to make this story more readable upon request by Curlscat. I do tend to do a lot of this: Ex: 'Sabrina turned around-Daphne was no longer there-and screamed.' Now, I'm going to see how long it takes me to forget that I want to try to do this now: 'Sabrina turned around- Daphne was no longer there- and screamed.' **

**Are people okay with that? I know I'll forget sometimes. I apologize. **

**BTW: Sabrina and Daphne are staying in a guest bedroom. Don't ask- improvise! **

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><p>Later that night, after a dinner of crab-flavored roast beef (which was declared delicious by Daphne), a meeting was held. All members of the Grimm family were instructed to meet in the living room by Granny Relda, and they obliged, gathering around her as she stood in front of the fireplace.<p>

"Now, I think we all know why we're here. Maleficent's become more dangerous that we suspected, and she's threatening- demanding, actually- that Sabrina be killed to pay off the debt of Mirror's death." The old woman frowned. "Some of you also know that it was revealed she and Mirror had a... relationship of sorts, the extent of which has yet to be revealed."

Daphne, Henry, Veronica, and Red all exchanged startled looks; they had not known.

"Because of possible vengeance, we must take precautions. An attack could be launched upon the house at any time. And," Granny continued, "because you all live in this house now, I believe that any magical protection laid around us should be approved by a vote from each of us- excluding Basil, of course." She shot an affectionate look at the baby. "So, I stand here today to ask you: Who here thinks that Jacob and I should set about to lay more powerful magical protections around this dwelling?"

Everyone raised their hands, Daphne pausing only to lean in to Sabrina and comment, "She sure is being a bit formal, isn't she?" Sabrina gave a tight nod, not really listening. Her family was deciding the fate of the Grimm legacy. She wanted to hear every minute of the discussion.

Granny Relda seemed a bit relieved no one had objected. Sabrina suspected that her grandmother might have been worried about Henry's opinion. But now, the old woman smiled. "Then as soon as the meeting is adjourned, Jacob and I will crack open some ancient spellbooks and get to work. But onto another, darker, subject." The mood in the room dimmed considerably, and it seemed that everyone leaned in a fraction of an inch more.

"Maleficent also told Sabrina that she was to meet her tonight in the woods at 11:15, presumably to be killed."

Henry looked absolutely outraged. "Mom, why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I was saving it so that we could all discuss it together," Granny Relda replied. "I thought everyone would want to put in their opinion on the matter."

"It's my daughter's _life! _There shouldn't _be_ any discussion! She's not going out there tonight- no way!"

Veronica touched his cheek. "Sh. It's okay. Calm down, Henry." But she, too, had a look upon her face that suggested she more than agreed with her husband.

Uncle Jake put a hand on Sabrina's shoulder. "Hank, we weren't going to suggest that she'd go. Of _course _she isn't. It's too dangerous."

"Yeah. I'll go instead- and beat the crap out of the old witch!" Puck chimed in, drawing his sword. Mr. Canis frowned, and murmured, "Put it away, child."

"...But... but what if she doesn't go out there, and Maleficent gets really mad?" Daphne asked.

"Well, the alternative would be the death of your sister," Uncle Jake said. "Daphne, Maleficent has bad intentions for Sabrina. She's not going."

Sabrina, who had been getting a little angrier every time someone spoke, was now completely fed up. "Does anyone care what _I_ have to say about all this?" she exploded. The room became deathly silent. "It's _my_ life! Why are you guys deciding it for me? I'd rather die than risk all of your lives. I mean, seriously, it's not that great of a loss. What do I really do around here besides yell at Puck, change Basil's diapers, and occasionally kill Masters of huge evil organizations? _Nothing_!"

"Sabrina, don't talk like that!" Daphne cried, standing up. "You are NOT going on some self-sacri...safri...sacrify..."

"Sacrificial," Mr. Canis whispered.

"Yeah. You aren't going on some self-sacrificial quest to save us all; not again! This time, we're going to deal with it together, 'kay? We're all more than capable!"

"Daphne, I was _saving_ you last time!" Sabrina wailed. Why was her family so blind to what was so clear to her? "Don't you see that it's the only way Maleficent is going to leave you guys alone? It's going to be a problem if I don't die pretty soon!"

"Sabrina Grimm, you aren't dying!" Henry roared. "Be reasonable!"

"Be _quiet_ for a minute, Dad!" she snapped, irritated.

"Sabrina!" Veronica shouted. Chaos erupted, and suddenly everyone was yelling at each other. Granny was having an argument with Veronica, Henry and Uncle Jake were on the verge of a wrestling match, Mr. Canis and Red stood quietly, a bit bemused, and Puck, Daphne, and Sabrina were screaming at each other, the faerie and the younger girl insisting that Sabrina was being extremely stupid.

"FINE!" Sabrina finally cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "Do whatever you want to. But you're dooming yourselves- to death." She stormed up the stairs and slammed and locked the guest bedroom door. Daphne could go find herself somewhere else to sleep; Sabrina needed time alone with her thoughts.

But right now, she simply cried for the lives of those she loved.

* * *

><p>She must have drifted off soon after, because Sabrina was suddenly swept up in the middle of a terrifying dream.<p>

Sabrina was crouched behind a bush in the middle of the woods behind Granny Relda's house, tailing her Uncle Jake and Henry. They were walking- almost stealthily, Sabrina noticed- along a worn dirt path, muttering to each other. When they were almost out of sight, the girl got up and began to walk behind them, being careful to not make any noise.

After some time, the two men stopped. Sabrina dove off the path as they darted behind two trees. A sinister mist began to creep along the leafy ground, encircling everyone's ankles in a milky swirl of foreboding dread. And a voice- one Sabrina knew all too well- came with it.

"There is no need to hide, Henry and Jacob. I know that you have come."

While Maleficent's humorless tone gave Sabrina the shivers, she noticed that it didn't have the terrifying quality it had in her mind. It was more open, more... real.

Which meant that the Draman was actually somewhere out here, not a presence in her brain. This realization scared Sabrina to pieces.

"Who are you?" Henry demanded, getting over the initial shock of hearing the voice. "Are you the creep that's been stalking my daughter?"

Maleficent laughed. She sounded nothing like she had in the Disney movie. The witch was quieter. Contemplative. And infinitely more dangerous. "I am no _creep_, foolish mortal. I am merely seeking an eye for an eye. Mirror's life will be avenged with the death of your daughter, Sabrina."

Uncle Jake shook his head, seemingly irritated. "Look, you don't get how things work these days, do you? We don't follow some Mesopotamian king's rule anymore. We don't kill someone just because they killed another person. Besides, Mirror was evil, so Sabrina had a right."

"He was NOT EVIL!" Maleficent shrieked. "Mirror was a person driven to great heights by the injustices of societal problems, like so many innocent humans today! How DARE you suggest that he could be evil? He was fighting for a just cause!"

"You really did love him, didn't you?" Uncle Jake said, almost wonderingly. "I didn't know anyone truly could..."

Sabrina knew instantly that that was the wrong thing to say. A huge blast knocked her off her feet, and Maleficent's scream of rage echoed in her ears. Suddenly the dream was disappearing, and all that the girl knew was that her father and uncle were in danger, and there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

><p>She woke up in a cold sweat, and, after checking the clock, groaned. She <em>knew<em> it had been a bad idea to go to sleep at seven thirty. Now she was stuck waking up at five a.m. When she rolled over, expecting to bump into Daphne, she simply fell onto a cold, empty part of the bed usually occupied by the little girl. It was then that she remembered last night's events, and almost cried out.

Her dream had taken place in the middle of the night! This left hours in which Uncle Jake and Henry could have been tortured- or worse, killed- by Maleficent! Sabrina leapt out of bed, unlocked the door, and sprinted to her parents' room as fast as possible.

Veronica sat up and blinked, startled by the sight of her bedraggled daughter in the doorway. "Sabrina! W-what on earth?"

"Where's Dad?" Sabrina demanded. When Veronica opened her mouth to protest, her daughter cut her off again. "No questions! Please! Where's Dad?"

"I- he- well, he's not here!" Veronica looked over at the bed with a bit of surprise. "He was here when we went to bed."

"Oh, no!" Sabrina groaned. She dashed out of the room again and went to Uncle Jake's room, trying the handle. The door was locked, and Sabrina was just about to grab a paperclip to unlock it when a voice startled her back to reality.

"Savvy? What are you doing up at this hour?"

She turned to see Henry standing in the hallway. He had just exited the bathroom, and the toilet was noisily gurgling behind him. To her embarrassment, she realized he must have just been up to use the bathroom.

"I-I had a bad dream," she whispered, looking at the floor as Veronica came out, tying a bathrobe around herself. "I thought you and Jake went outside to go confront Maleficent, and she… got mad… and… I thought she was going to hurt you."

Uncle Jake's door opened, revealing the man himself. He looked like a ghost, with his skin washed out by the light of a full moon and his hair standing on end. "Care to explain why I'm up at this hour?" he muttered.

Sabrina told him, her actions sounding less and less justified as she went on.

"Well…" Jake said, scratching his arm, "it's possible that the Draman just wanted to scare you into going outside to look for her. But she can't come in now, because we've already put up the protections."

"I'm still not completely satisfied," Sabrina warned him. "We've probably just made her really angry."

Veronica yawned. "How about we discuss this in the morning? I didn't get to bed until late, and I'd like to get some sleep."

Embarrassed again, Sabrina nodded and shuffled off to the guest room, where she flopped onto the bed and sighed. There was no way she was getting to sleep now, and there wasn't anything to do.

For a while, she just sat there and pondered over the situation. There was no doubt in her mind Maleficent was planning an attack; she just needed to know when. Deep down inside of her, she half-wished that Uncle Jake hadn't taken out the connection between herself and the Draman witch, but then she remembered the excruciating pain of the second attack, and the paralyzing fear of the first, and sobered up again.

At around six, Sabrina could no longer be confined to a single bedroom and padded downstairs, where she fixed herself some toast and butter. She was about to break the rules and eat on the couch while watching TV when a loud thump and a hiss of a swear word startled her. It had come from the dining room.

She set down her plate and went out to investigate, noting that Granny Relda's crowbar was kept in the coat closet if needed. But instead, she stepped in to find Puck nursing a stubbed toe and muttering obscenities on the floor.

Sabrina laughed, and he glared at her. "What's so funny, Grimm?"

"Your face, stinkpot," she replied, smiling as he rolled his eyes. _This_ was like the good old times. "So, what are you doing?"

"Well, I _was_ going to go out and hunt down that witch…"

"You _WHAT?" _Sabrina was shocked. "Puck, you'd get yourself killed!"

He snorted. "Like you care, Ugly."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "Exactly. I don't. But I think your _girlfriend_ might."

Puck stared at her blankly.

"You're dating Kathryn, remember?" She cracked up. "You can't honestly tell me you forgot!"

The faerie's wings burst out of his back and brought him to his feet in one swift motion. "I didn't forget," he retorted, though it was obvious by his near-horrified expression that he had. "I'm trying to protect her by killing the Draman!"

"Well, it's not going to work, Puck. Maleficent is infinitely more powerful than Mirror was, and fueled by her twisted love for him." Sabrina made a face. Just thinking about the now-deceased, portly man in a relationship was disgusting. "As soon as she sees you, she'll kill you. What would poor Kathryn do?" _More importantly, what would _I_ do?_

"Geez, if you're going to be a bully about it…" Puck grumbled, stalking off to the kitchen in search of food. Sabrina breathed a small sigh of relief. It was hard to admit (although she had gotten better at it lately), but she took Puck's wellbeing seriously. If he was killed, Sabrina would be a wreck for days.

"So are we going to school today?" Puck asked, emerging from the kitchen with a piece of bread stuffed in his mouth. Sabrina shrugged. They had skipped yesterday, but with there being even greater danger today, she didn't know what the adults would decide.

"I don't know. I mean, I guess I kind of want to go. I left school abruptly, and I'm sure both Kathryn and Carmen are totally confused. They probably think it's PMS or something gross…"

"PMS?"

Sabrina blushed. She'd forgotten whom she was speaking to. "You don't want to know." Then she quickly headed back to the couch and began to eat her breakfast, turning the TV on. She might get yelled at, but it was better than explaining to Puck what 'PMS' was…


	9. Chapter 9

**Mostly filler chapters while I decide where I want to take this story. I know how the ending goes, but having a 12 chapter story (which is what it would be if I just launched into it) seems kind of wimpy. If you could leave a review about things that should happen (e.g. a school dance, Maleficent launching a huge attack, etc.) that would be awesome. :)**

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><p>Sabrina shrugged her backpack over her shoulder and handed Daphne her coat. The littler girl took it and fastened the buttons before hefting up her own backpack. Puck needed neither coat or backpack; he'd left his supplies at school. They were all quiet, not knowing exactly what was going to be waiting for them on the other side of the front door. Uncle Jake, Henry, Veronica and Granny Relda had come to see them off.<p>

"Remember, _lieblings,_ should anything go wrong at school, find Ms. White," Granny instructed. Henry nodded.

"And don't go looking for trouble." His comment was directed mostly at Puck and Sabrina.

Veronica ran a hand through her hair. "And be _safe_." She leaned down and kissed her girls. "I am not losing you when we practically just found you!"

"...Which is why this is a bad decision in the first place," Henry grumbled. "They shouldn't be going."

"We can't exactly be cooped up here forever, Dad," Daphne pointed out.

Uncle Jake nodded. "Yes, but while they're at school, they _can_ be protected." He reached into one of his many pockets and pulled out three necklaces, handing one to each child. The cords were made of worn, warm leather, and hanging from each was a small, royal blue sapphire.

Puck gave Jake a scathing look. "If you think I'm going to go around today wearing _jewelry_, you've got some sort of brain disorder."

The older man rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a baby. These aren't jewelry, anyway. They're fragments from the Gilded Sapphire." He received six blank stares. "You know... the Protection Stone? Good grief, people!"

"You know, Jacob, we aren't exactly jewel connoisseurs," Granny Relda said wryly.

Jake sighed. "Anyway, these little sapphires contain a powerful enchantment."

Immediately, Sabrina held the necklace further away from herself. "My addiction," she warned.

"No, it's okay," Uncle Jake said. "You can't _use_ the sapphires, they just... protect you. So you might feel a little bit of a tingle every now and then, but it won't be the crazy addiction you remember."

Daphne, who had already put her necklace on, grinned. "So they like, protect us?"

"Exactly. You'll be safe as long as you keep those necklaces on. _Puck_..."

Puck scowled, but obliged and yanked the necklace over his head, tucking it under his ratty sweatshirt so that it wasn't visible. Sabrina did the same, although she didn't tuck hers in. She had no objection to people seeing the necklace.

Veronica smiled, even if it was a bit forced. Sabrina could tell that her mother was strained, and that she did not want to send them out alone. "Well... have a good day at school girls."

"Maybe I should drive them to school," Uncle Jake suggested. "That way, we'll know nothing happened to them on the way."

"Good idea, Jacob," Granny Relda agreed. "Take the jalopy!"

Amid Sabrina's groans- she did not like taking the old deathtrap _anywhere_, even if it would supposedly protect her- the children were hustled out of the house and escorted into the old car. Soon, they were driving down the road to school. Uncle Jake and Daphne made rowdy conversation in the front seat, while Sabrina had her face pressed up against the window, anxiously looking for any sign of danger. If Maleficent's plan was to scare the pants off of the girl, it was working. The suspense was killing her!

Puck merely lazed around, spinning his wooden sword by the hilt on his finger, and muttering about how angry he was that he had had to take a bath that morning. This irritated Sabrina, because she felt that he could at least be helping her watch for danger. But by the time they had pulled up to Ferryport Landing's only school, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The kids grabbed their stuff and waved goodbye to Uncle Jake, who shouted back to them, "Make sure to keep your amulets on _at all times!_"

With my luck, Sabrina thought grimly, it'll be off in two minutes.

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><p>At lunch that day, Sabrina and Carmen sat by themselves, eating their lunch and talking quietly. Kathryn was sitting next to Puck at the boys' table, so close to him that she was practically sitting in his lap. Sabrina gritted her teeth. As much as she knew her friend was infatuated with the faerie, and as much as she loved Kathryn dearly, this must be crossing some sort of line!<p>

Carmen's next comment quickly took Sabrina's mind off of the odd couple, though. "So, what was up on Monday? You left halfway through!"

"Oh... I've been feeling kinda down, lately... I think it was because I was recovering from a cold." She glanced guiltily at her friend. "And then I just felt really sick... so I took a personal day yesterday."

"Well, I wish you wouldn't have... I had to sit with _Jamie_, and you know how she is."

"What about Kathryn?"

Carmen raised her eyebrows and gestured over to where the girls' friend was sitting. "She was like that all day. I'm surprised Robin hasn't filed a restraining order yet."

_Me, too, _Sabrina thought. _It's not _like _Puck to tolerate all of that... lovey dovey stuff, and especially not from Kathryn! _This made her angrier. For at least the thousandth time that week, she restrained herself from shouting, "Puck's a jerk!" Instead, the blonde merely bit into her hamburger. Though nasty, it was ten times more delicious than Granny Relda's eccentric cooking, and took her mind off of Puck's relationship problems.

In Gym class that day, much to Sabrina's horror, Kathryn and Puck were placed on the same dodgeball team. "What have the Fates got against me?" she growled. As usual, the coach payed little attention to the fierceness with which the game was played. Puck protected Kathryn from harm the whole time, so in the end, only Sabrina and Carmen were left on one side (because Sabrina had also protected her friend), and Puck and Kathryn on the other. Sabrina was overwhelmed with a nasty case of deja vu.

"Hey, Grimm! I'm back for revenge!" Puck taunted. "And this time, Kathryn's gonna help me."

"In your dreams, pus face," Sabrina said calmly. Her whole team was cheering her on, and she vowed that she would not disappoint them. She would get the Trickster King out fair and square. Not that it wouldn't be hard, or anything. He had a 4,000 year advantage on her, and could launch balls at mind-blowing speeds. So Sabrina decided to take out the weakest first, which, unfortunately, meant that she would have to get her best friend out.

"Do it," Carmen said, as if reading her friend's mind. "I hate to admit it, but it would give me immense pleasure."

Sabrina winked at her and chucked her ball at the small girl on the opposing side. "Sorry, Kathryn!" she called apologetically as it slammed into the girl's chest, making her stumble back a few steps.

Kathryn gave her the thumbs up, laughing, and then went over to touch Puck's shoulder. She whispered something in his ear, and gestured at Sabrina. The faerie got a very mean look on his face and nodded.

"Um... you're screwed?" Carmen suggested, screeching when one of Puck's balls **(A/N: Seriously, no pun intended)** hit her in the arm. "Good luck, 'Brina! Don't lose too badly!"

Puck cackled. "You're going down in flames!"

The second dodgeball war began. She wasn't as angry at the faerie as she had been the first time, but Sabrina threw each ball she scooped up with a vengeance. _This is for being a jerk... _Miss. _This is for dating my best friend... _Miss. _And this is for pretending to care!_ Miss.

Okay, so maybe she was a little mad. But her anger only blinded her. Puck threw with startling accuracy, and when they were only two minutes in, Sabrina could tell that she was going to lose. He'd tease her about it for a while, she reasoned, but it was better than getting into a shouting match like last time. Sabrina dropped the ball she was holding and gave up. "I surrender..." she said simply.

"Aw, you're no fun, Grimm!" Puck complained, but he had no choice to do anything but nail her in the chest.

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><p>After school, Sabrina waited for Daphne, sitting on the front steps of the building. She didn't notice until the last minute when Kathryn came and sat down next to her, smiling. "Wow, today was great! ...Sorry about Gym today. I know it must have been hard to be defeated so easily."<p>

Sabrina glared at her, but Kathryn was staring off into space, her mind obviously elsewhere (i.g. Puck's bed). "So... how's P-Robin?"

"He's nice, I guess..."

The 'I guess' made Sabrina's heart lift a little higher. "So what's wrong? I thought you totally loved him!"

Kathryn made an offended face. "Of course I do! It's just... well... He seems kinda distant sometimes. And sometimes, he gets sad when I start talking about dates and..." She giggled. "Kissing."

"Already?" Sabrina said, playfully punching Kathryn on the shoulder. "You sly devil!"

"Sabrina!" Daphne called, rushing out of the doors. Her sapphire bounced happily against her small chest. "Is Uncle Jake here yet?"

"Not yet. But he's probably late- as usual," Sabrina answered. Kathryn looked at the both of them.

"You guys have matching necklaces," she noticed. "What kind of rock is that?"

"Sapphire," Daphne answered seriously.

Kathryn held out her hand, smiling. "Can I see it? It's so pretty!"

Sabrina became alarmed. "No! I mean... no. Sorry, Kathryn, it's just... they're my grandmothers, and she made us swear not to take them off." She frowned apologetically. "But you can hold it, if you like."

Daphne allowed Sabrina's friend to touch the small rock. "Neato!"

Just then, a very wheezy horn honked. It sounded to Sabrina like a dying duck, and she immediately knew Uncle Jake was here to pick the girls up. Kathryn snorted. "There's your uncle's car!" she chortled. Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"I don't know if that's even a _car_, but don't rub it in..." Her playful smile disappeared as she took in Uncle Jake's expression. All of his usual smile-lines had disappeared, leaving behind a grim mask of pain and determination. And worry. Yes, he was worried.

"Get in the car, girls. We have a LOT to talk about."

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><p><strong>Kind of a cliffhanger... Oh well. Yes, it's long, yes, it's tedious, but I felt that they needed to go back to school, just because I'd already introduced that much. And WHY do you think Puck's depressed? Gee... :) <strong>

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PANCAKES REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ugh... stress... my first debate tournament as a Lincoln Douglas debator is upon me... And I had no idea WTH I was doing. XD **

**Thanks to those who bother to read this, and favorite it. :) You make my day!**

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><p>Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong, Uncle Jake?"<p>

Her uncle's lips formed a hard line. "Where's Puck?" The girls shrugged. "Well, we need to find him!"

As if on cue, the faerie boy strutted out of the school, grinning at everyone he passed. Kathryn saw him and waved. "This weekend?" she called. The boy shrugged, spotting the car.

"Maybe. I'll call you."

Sabrina scowled.

Puck climbed into the car, sighing and tugging on the pair of clean jeans Granny Relda had made him put on that morning. "Why so grim? ...No pun intended."

Uncle Jake pulled out of the parking lot and stared all three of the children down. "There's been an attack."

Immediately, Sabrina pulled in a deep breath. She was almost scared to ask what had happened, but she did, anyway.

"Was anyone hurt?" Daphne chimed in.

"What did they do to my ROOM?" Puck demanded. Sabrina punched him, earning her a scowl.

"About an hour after I dropped you guys off, we heard this big explosion. Your grandmother ran out to see what it was, and discovered this huge... _thing_... circling the house." Uncle Jake ran a hand through his already sufficiently tussled mop of hair. "It was the Draman witch again, curse her. Luckily, the protective spells were holding up, but we were terrified. Red went into hysterics, and she hasn't come out of her room since. Mr. Clay thinks it's because the Draman reminds her of the Jabberwocky."

"Oh no, poor Red!" Daphne sympathized. "So, how are we going to be able to get home?"

Puck puffed up his chest. "Easy. We drive up, you let me out, and I beat the bejeezus out of that old hag."

Jake allowed a chuckle to slip from once-tightly pressed lips. "No, Puck. She's already gone. Henry and I warded her off after a while, but she was screaming the whole time. Obviously, she expected us to come out and confront her in the forest, so she's super pissed."

"That's my kinda battle!"

"Puck, shut up," Sabrina muttered, her head spinning. Maleficent had attacked. Although she was relieved none of her family had been hurt, a sense of dread built up in the pit of her stomach. The witch would obviously stop at nothing to kill the Grimm family members. Once it had just been Sabrina, but now the girl was beginning to wonder if the evil witch wanted to carry out what Mirror had left behind... She shook her head. She couldn't think like that, not now. She needed to be strong, not ponder upon an infinitely powerful sorceress after her life.

As Uncle Jake steered the jalopy- which was puffing out magenta smoke from its rear end- toward Granny Relda's home, the children gasped. It was clear there had been a very powerful attack launched on the house. The lawn was littered with three-foot-deep craters (some of which were still smoking), fallen trees, and dying yellow clumps of grass. The rest had been burned away. But the house, surprisingly, was still completely intact. It didn't even look like it had been scratched. A perfect ring of green grass surrounded it for about two feet, showing exactly where a magical barrier was set up.

"This is going to take ages to clean up," Sabrina breathed.

"Not with magic," Daphne suggested. "All we need is a magic wand."

Jake parked the car and turned to look at the kids. "Do you still have your amulets on?" he asked sternly. Sabrina and Daphne's were obvious, but Puck had to reluctantly pull it out of the depths of his sweatshirt. "Good." He pulled out a dirty yellow stone of his own, giving the children sideways glances. "...You know. Just in case."

Every step it took to get to the front door of the house felt like a lifetime. What if Maleficent was waiting in the trees? Or circling overhead? Or invisible? Or... or...

"We're home!" Daphne chimed as Uncle Jake unlocked the door. It opened silently and the kids piled in, dumping their school supplies in the closet. In the kitchen, Veronica and Henry were making dinner. Sabrina was surprised that Granny Relda wasn't with them, and she was suddenly tense with fear. Was her grandmother okay?

Jake seemed to read her mind. "Your granny's upstairs. She said she didn't feel so well... a cold or something like that. Don't worry about it."

Daphne and Sabrina headed to the kitchen to go talk to their parents while Puck trooped upstairs, muttering something about calling his girlfriend. Sabrina's teeth clenched.

"Hi, girls!" Veronica greeted warmly, rolling out some dough. "I trust nothing happened at school?"

"No." It bothered Sabrina that the attitude in the house- besides Uncle Jake, of course- was so normal. "But are you guys okay?"

"Yeah!" Daphne added. "We heard the Draman attacked!"

Henry stopped stirring a bowl of what looked like salad dressing. "It did," he said seriously, then turned back to stirring. "I _hate_ magic," he muttered. The women ignored him.

"So... what's for dinner?" Daphne asked, hopping up to sit on a countertop.

Veronica picked up a small recipe card. "It's something I found online. Scallion pancakes..."

"Wait. Scallions are onions!" Sabrina made a face. She was looking forward to _real_ food.

"Oh, Savvy, you'll like them. My mother made them for me once, a while back," Veronica said, smiling. "I think I felt the same way at first. But really, they're delicious."

"Whatever you say, Mom. At least they aren't purple." Sabrina left the kitchen and headed upstairs, with the intention of heading to the guest bedroom, but stopped outside the closed door when she realized someone was already in there.

"...Sure. Yeah, that'll work. I mean, as long as my grandma'll let me."

Great. Why was _Puck _in her room, using the phone? There were plenty of other phones in the house! Why this one? Sabrina almost barged in and kicked him out, but part of her held back. She wanted to know what he and Kathryn talked about. She wanted to know what dating was really like.

"Great! I guess I'll meet you there at seven, when the dance starts."

Dance? Sabrina slapped her forehead. Of course! Snow White was putting on a school dance to raise money for Ferryport Landing's educational system (even if some of the funds were probably being slipped into Charming's pocket, in some way or another). It was going to be put on at seven this Friday night, and Sabrina couldn't believe she'd almost forgotten about her first ever dance!

"So why'd you want to call me?" Puck asked, changing the subject. He paused as Kathryn answered. Okay, this was getting a little frustrating. Sabrina snuck off to Granny Relda's room and grabbed the portable phone before locking herself in the bathroom. She then turned the phone on and listened into the conversation. Not exactly polite, but, hey. Puck hadn't been Mr. Nice Guy either lately.

"...I feel like you're distracted," Kathryn was saying. "Are you sure you're really into this?"

"Of course!" Puck put in, sounding annoyed. "I just have a lot on my mind."

Kathryn's voice got quieter. More... timid. "Is this about Sabrina? Do you like her? I mean... I know you guys are friends, but if there's anything more-"

"We're JUST. FRIENDS." Puck's hard statement made Sabrina want to punch something. Really, Puck? A friend doesn't kiss another friend and then say it was a joke. A friend doesn't constantly taunt the other. But then again... the other friend wasn't supposed to be in love regardless. It was all so confusing!

"Oh." Kathryn's sigh crackled the phone line. "I love you, Robin."

"Same," Puck replied, though with less conviction. Sabrina frowned. As much as she hated the relationship, Puck wasn't being a very good boyfriend to Kathryn. "Oh- hey, I've got to go. Really sorry. Bye!" Sabrina timed shutting off the portable phone with Puck's hurried goodbye, still frowning. If he didn't like Kathryn, what was up? She snuck out of the bathroom and put away the portable phone, pretending to be completely oblivious as she headed to the guest bedroom.

Puck was sitting on her bed, scowling.

"What are you doing in my room?" she demanded, still feigning ignorance.

"I called Kathryn. Take a chill pill, Ugly."

"Try an IQ pill," she muttered, flopping down on her bed and glaring at him. "Get out, please. I've got a lot on my mind."

"You don't know the half of it," the faerie muttered, making no move to leave. She frowned at him, curious.

"Well, I don't see some crazy dragon lady after your life, plus you've got a girlfriend..." Sabrina met his gaze. "I don't see what the matter could be." Her tone bordered on being lofty.

Puck frowned. "Y'know, Grimm, sometimes I do things, say things, that I don't mean. You've got to stop being so serious all the time."

Sabrina moistened her dry lips apprehensively. What was he getting at? That he really meant what he'd said that fateful night? The thought made Sabrina's heart swell, but she forced the feeling back down. She didn't want to get her hopes up, only to be hurt again. "Puck..."

"Yeah?"

"I think you have Multiple Personality Disorder. You contradict yourself way too often."

The faerie groaned. "I try to be serious one _stinkin _time, and you don't even take me serious then!"

As she dragged him out of the room, smirking, Sabrina tried to hide her feelings. The truth was, she took what he said very seriously, often brooding over it for hours. She was still trying to decipher the unbreakable code that was Puck's true feelings.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, the whole family (under protection of several very potent magical spells) gathered outside to help clean the yard. Jake and Daphne were armed with magic wands and the task of making the grass and flowers grow again. Sabrina was handed a garbage bag and told to pick up small bits of debris.<p>

It was boring work, but Henry and Canis made her laugh every so often. They had to use Granny Relda's old chainsaw to cut up the fallen trees into firewood for Christmas, and were arguing about how best to do it.

Basil tottered by, covered in ashes. Her little brother had been rolling around on the ground, squealing at the dirt cloud he'd formed. Veronica chased after him, muttering about bathtime, and Puck- from his lazy perch on the roof- declared that Basil was his "Mini-Me in training".

A blast of magic whizzed past Sabrina's head, missing her hair by inches. "Hey!" she called to a flustered looking Daphne.

"Sorry!" the little girl apologized while Red Riding Hood giggled from the porch steps. "I'm out of practice!"

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you aimed away from me!" Sabrina replied, smiling. Daphne's apologetic grin was infectious. In fact, the whole mood of the cleanup effort made her smile. Everyone was working hard to fill in the smoking craters and make the grass grow again, as if nothing had ever happened.

Sabrina finished tossing a twisted hunk of smoking wood into her nearly-full garbage bag and headed out a little further, spotting a dirty old plastic bag. "Stupid littering idiot," she muttered, cursing whoever had dumped the bag. She picked it up, but dropped it immediately when she heard Uncle Jake's frightened call.

"'Brina! Get back here! You're outside of the spell's range!"

"Oh!" she managed, startled, and was jogging back when a hand slipped around her neck.

Instantaneously, Sabrina's head was filled with the familiar pain she'd thought she'd never have to feel again, and her vision blurred out into blackness.

She was sure she was a goner, this time.

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><p><strong>When FanFiction decides to work on my iPad, it makes me happy, and I write more. :) Pretty fail cliffy, but, y'know, I try. XP <strong>

**Chapters come quicker with reviews, m'kay? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to the 9 reviewers who left comments on the first day! :) You guys make life as a Fanfiction author worthwhile. **

**And I'm really surprised people liked the chapter so much! I viewed it more as a filler, but hey, who am I to complain? I tried to get this one out as quickly as I could manage because of the cliffhanger in the last chapter. Sorry if it's not soon enough. **

**Anyway, thanks to everyone! I'm planning this huge Puck/Sabrina scene where... heh. Oops. **

**I do not own the Sisters Grimm, Disney, Disney's Sleeping Beauty, or a marriage contract with Puck. Phooey. **

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><p>Sabrina was having a really nice dream- one that included her two favorite things: Puck and chocolate- when she heard a soft voice, urging her out of sleep. It called her name, smooth as a melody, and reminded the girl vaguely of Veronica. It wasn't until her bright blue eyes blinked open that Sabrina realized the voice belonged to anyone but.<p>

It was Maleficent, one eyebrow cocked and lips touched with a smile. This was the witch? The crazy dragon lady (for lack of a better term)?

Why did she look so _Disney-ish? _Sabrina had gotten used to the fact that movies were consistently wrong when it came to Everafters, and she'd expected something along the lines of scaly skin and huge fangs when it came to this one. But Maleficent looked almost exactly as she had in the Disney adaptation. The surprisingly beautiful Draman was clothed in a billowing black and purple cloak, the edges trimmed with black lace. It had a vampire-style high collar, sending spooky shadows across the face of Sabrina's worst nightmare. She had unearthly horns sticking out of the top of her head, which were smooth and glittered in the sunset as if made from obsidian.

But what sent shivers up Sabrina's spine was Maleficent's eyes. The irises themselves were black, although ringed with red. And where the eye should have been white, it was yellow. Heavy eyelashes moved up and down with every measured blink.

It didn't help that the sorceress' skin had an unhealthy, greenish tinge to it, or that she was holding a long, golden staff that sparked with magic at every touch.

...Or that they were in the middle of a pine forest, in a spot Sabrina didn't recognize.

"Sabrina..." Maleficent whispered, smiling. Her teeth were perfectly white. "Finally. You're awake!"

Sabrina wanted to back away, but found that she was bound to a tree by heavy ropes. "Creep," she snapped. "Leave me alone!"

The Draman pouted. "Why?" she asked. Her voice still held that soft, deadly quality that scared the girl so much. "The only way _you'll_ be leaving is when you're dead!" A cool breeze fluttered through the trees as Maleficent cackled. "You should have seen the look on your family's faces. You Grimms are always bragging about being so brave, so tough... They hardly moved a muscle."

"You're lying," Sabrina said confidently. She wouldn't let anyone talk to her about her family; it had cost her greatly when battling Mirror. "My family wouldn't just let you take me away."

"...Of course, it might have helped that I move very, very quickly," Maleficent continued, ignoring Sabrina's comment. "I have to, after all. I am one of the most feared Everafters to walk the earth, beside my late lover." Sabrina's blood ran cold as Maleficent's gaze hardened, clouding her darkly beautiful features. "But that's why we're here, isn't it? To avenge him?"

"Mirror never told me about a girlfriend," Sabrina said, stalling. "If he cared about you so much, why did he keep your relationship a total secret?"

The witch sneered. "The Grimm girl's a bit, dense, hm? Why do you _think? _To protect me, of course! _And_ our unborn child."

Time seemed to stand still as the words hit home. No. Mirror and Maleficent... parents? It made Sabrina want to laugh and scream at the same time. Imagine how evil- not to mention deformed- that baby would be!

Sabrina didn't realize she'd been gawking until she snapped her jaw shut. "A baby?" she echoed. Hadn't the Grimms had enough baby drama? They didn't need a Draman/mirror child running around.

Maleficent put a hand on her flat stomach. "Yes. She'll be here in two years." At Sabrina's confused expression, she continued, almost exasperated. "Draman offspring take much longer than a normal human baby to grow. They have more... skills to develop. But this is beside the point. Tomorrow at sundown, I shall gather some faithful Scarlet Hand members and we will perform the ancient ritual to finish you all off... for good, this time," she added, irritated. "And don't try to escape; those ropes are magical. We'll speak more in the morning... I should leave you to your thoughts."

The sorceress smirked and fingered her staff. Instantly, she was gone in a puff of chokingly black smoke.

Sabrina had never felt so helpless. She had just met one of the most dangerous Everafters, was tied to a tree, and was about three minutes away from bursting into tears. It was at times like these when she started to understand where Henry was coming from when he launched into one of his 'I hate magic' rants. Thinking of her dad made a tear slip down her cheek. She wished that she could tell them not to come and get her, because she feared for her family's lives.

Damn it, she wished that she could _do _something! But Sabrina Grimm had become the victim, and could not play savior this time.

She didn't know how late she stayed up that night, but it was fully dark by the time she drifted off into a restless sleep. (It really isn't easy falling asleep while tied to a tree, she realized.) She dreamt of Granny Relda's cooking, of Basil's gurgling laugh, of Daphne's easy smile, and of Puck's huge, insect-like wings.

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><p>Maleficent slapped Sabrina awake. Cheek stinging, the girl blinked numbly until the witch came into focus.<p>

"Ouch," she snapped. "What the hell was that for?"

"I'm in a foul mood today," Maleficent snarled, pacing. The early morning sunshine struggling to find its way through infinite pine needles sent odd patterns dancing across her face.

"What's new?" Sabrina muttered.

"Don't _backtalk!" _

The girl fell silent, cowering under Maleficent's rage. Something had happened. And the witch was decidedly _not_ happy.

"Last night, your father, uncle and that disgusting fairy boy went looking for you. I had to take certain steps to protect you from their sight."

Suddenly, Sabrina was filled with fear. What had the Draman done? Had she hurt her father? Jake? Or... Puck? "What did you do?" she hissed. "If you hurt _any_ of them..."

Maleficent glared at her, pulling her cloak closer to herself against the chilly morning breeze. "I had to show them who was the boss," she murmured, eyes flashing dangerously. Her spindly green fingers curled over her gilded staff. "They should know not to mess with Maleficent, Queen of the Everafters."

"Queen?" Sabrina whispered through a dry mouth. She dreaded what the witch was about to say. Her dad... her uncle... her fairy boy... Could they be dead?

"Yes, _Queen_!" the Draman snapped. "I alone am the most powerful Everafter, and as soon as I kill off all of the Grimms, I will be free to take down the barrier and gain control of your fragile mortal world. And to make sure you cooperate until the very end... I needed leverage."

She released her cloak and held her palm face up to the sky, chanting something in an ancient language. A large, glowing ball of light began to form on the tree directly across from Sabrina. She saw ropes, scuffed sneakers, torn jeans, and...

Her breath caught. The glowing magic had revealed a tattered green hoodie. Puck.

When the magic died, the faerie was slumped and unconscious, held up only by the ropes that secured him to the thick pine. He was just as immobile as Sabrina- but way cute, she noted subconsciously.

"Let him go!" she shrieked. "You can't kill him! I _will _cooperate!"

Maleficent's chants cut off. Her yellow eyes found Sabrina's and she smiled. "I knew you would, darling. Now... I must make preparations..." Suddenly, Sabrina's head was submerged in firey pain, and the sorceress vanished.

The pain subsided eventually- Sabrina was left with a bloody lip, which she'd bitten quite hard-, but her levels of dispair had soared to new heights. Now it wasn't just _her_ in danger, it was Puck. She had mixed feelings about this; part of her wanted to say, "Good. He deserved this." The other half, however, wanted to barrel into the faerie's arms and cry, "I missed you!" She still hadn't fully forgiven him for betraying her.

She sat, deep in thoughts, for the next half hour. What could she do about Puck? Maybe he could break out of the ropes and get the both of them out of there, but hadn't Maleficent warned that they were magical? And worse, she had no way of contacting her family to stop them from searching. If Maleficent had managed to subdue Puck so fully... She couldn't bear to think of what could happen to Daphne, or Basil, or even Red. Memories began to surface, memories of Daphne in chains, of a shard of a mirror, of a face she thought she could trust...

No. She was fighting a new battle, now. It may be based off of the same goals, but Maleficent wanted to rule the entire world, suppress humankind, and probably establish some kind of tyrannical dictatorship. Mirror had simply wanted bad Everafters to be free- which wasn't good either.

Sabrina's thoughts were interrupted when Puck groaned, mumbling something about doughnuts and chimpanzees. When his eyes opened- abruptly changing from dazzling emerald to steely blue- Sabrina leaned forward as far as she could.

"Puck?"

He paused for a minute, taking in his surroundings, and then exploded. "_How can you be so STUPID?_" he roared. "We set up a barrier, Grimm! A freaking barrier! But of course, little Miss IDIOT had to go and step outside, getting herself caught!"

Sabrina retracted immediately, trying to sink as far as she could into the coils of thick rope. Her face burned, and she could feel tears building in her eyes. "I didn't know," she protested quietly. "I didn't know where the barrier ended."

"Of course you didn't," he sneered. "You don't know much of anything anymore, do you? You didn't know how much Daphne would cry all night, or how many little trinkets of the Old Lady's Henry would smash in frustration, or how much I was worried, or-"

"You missed me?" Sabrina interjected. His face flamed scarlet.

"I said I was _worried_. Who else am I going to prank if you die?"

"Well you don't have to shout," she snapped. "At least I was helping to clean up!" Great. It was only a few more seconds before her tears introduced themselves to the world.

Puck glared at her. "You're one great big blob of trouble, aren't you? Always wreaking havoc on the family, getting us into danger... Jeez!"

Her tears began to fall, and she bowed her head. Sabrina hadn't expected an outburst like this. She'd wanted Puck to wake up, tell her it was going to be okay, and start forming a plan. But he was angry, and all he wanted to do was scream at her. And maybe he was right. She _had_ been stupid. She should have asked the grownups where the boundary ended, and not strayed so far. She shouldn't have risked lives so callously.

But Puck was being unfair, and Sabrina knew this. "I didn't ask for this life, Puck," she said, swallowing her tears. "I was forced into it. And yes, I wouldn't have it any other way now- even if Daphne would let me- but I still had no choice. And most of the time, even my mistakes have good intentions behind them. At least I've learned to try to help others... Unlike you."

Puck fell silent, and for a moment, they just stared at each other. Finally, the faerie spoke, looking a bit ashamed of himself. "I-I'm sorry I yelled at you, Grimm. Maybe I was just so... worked up about all the drama, and confused, I took it out on you." His eyes fell to the mossy forest ground. "It's not your fault. I mean, sure, you _can_ be pretty dumb sometimes-"

"_Puck._"

He grinned sheepishly. "-but I probably would have done the same thing."

Sabrina tilted her head as she looked at him. It was the longest, most sincere apology she'd ever heard him recite, and she was happy he'd finally gotten it out. But the faerie still had much to apologize for.

"Hey- what's wrong with your cheek?" he blurted, leaning forward (his hands being bound to his side).

Sabrina blushed. "The right one?"

"Yeah. Is... is that a bruise?" He sounded alarmed. "Did she hit you?" When Sabrina nodded, he shook his head. "Did you deserve it?" His tone had the quality of a mother scolding a small child.

"Puck!"

"Yeah, you're right, you probably did."

Sabrina couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. It was nice to know he was merely teasing and not screaming at her anymore. It seemed that life was back to normal... except for the Kathryn subject. She knew that sometime today, she had to man up and talk to him about it, but she shoved the thought away. Not now. It could wait.

"So. How exactly did you get captured?" she wondered.

Puck quickly launched into an explanation, eager to tell. As soon as Sabrina had been taken from the property, whisked away in a cloud of black smoke, he, Henry, and Jake had charged inside to gather as many magical weapons as their pockets- and there were lots of _those_- could hold. Then they'd hopped on the magic carpet and skimmed over the top of the forest for hours, calling her name and peering down through thick branches. The three had been looking for four hours when all of the sudden, a huge, scaly black dragon had attacked. "Of course, it was scared of me, at first," Puck bragged, puffing up his chest as best he could. "But I got distracted protecting Henry, and it snagged me by my hoodie." Then, the faerie continued to describe, the dragon (which was Maleficent, of course) knocked him out with a puff of magic and he'd woken up here, with no idea of Jake and Henry's whereabouts and wellbeing.

"So... you don't know if they're all right?" Sabrina asked, biting her lip. Puck shook his head sadly.

"Nope. But I'm sure we can get out of here somehow."

Before Sabrina could warn him, he opened his mouth wide and burped a huge fireball at the ropes. There was a tremendous bang, and when the girl looked back up again, she winced. Puck's was sooty all over and his hair stood up in every direction. He looked bewildered.

"Um, ouch?" he spluttered, his mouth smoking a little.

"Yeah," she replied, a smile touching her lips. "The ropes are kind of _magically enforced._ You don't honestly think Maleficent's that stupid, do you?"

He looked indignant. "All right, all right, enough. I'm a King; I deserve respect. And," he added, rather irritated, "some of the Scarlet Hand _were_ that stupid."

"True that," Sabrina admitted, still smiling at him. "Y'know... it's kind of nice to have company, even though we're going to die tonight."

A strange look crossed Puck's face. Was it... concern? But as quickly as it came, it passed, and suddenly the faerie boy had regained his kingly composure. "Yes, it is nice knowing somebody will suffer with me."

"God, you're impossible, you know that?" Sabrina muttered.

He snorted. "I try, Grimm, I try."

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><p><strong>Loooooong chapter. Mwahaha, Puck's been captured! Now it's up to the rest of the family to save them... if they survive. XD <strong>

**Depressing, I know... The next chapter will have epic Puck/Sabrina tell-all moment, but I didn't want this to go over 3,000 words. Review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**OH. MY GOODNESS. I must be like, the worst author ever! I haven't updated in what, a month? Stupid writer's block... DX It is the death of me, and especially on one of the most crucial chapters in the sequel! Gah! I'm so so sorry for keeping you waiting! ;( Please don't throw rotten fruit! **

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><p><strong>So anyway, this chapter will definitely have more PuckSabrina moments. Hopefully they aren't OOC, but if so, who cares? :) **

**Well... I'm listening to Pandora Radio, my internet lifesaver, and this song called "Mad World" by Gary Jules comes on, and I swear the mood of it fits perfectly with Puck's little 'confession'. It's bittersweet because of what he's giving up, and what he's gaining. XD Spoiler.**

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><p>Sabrina Grimm was thoroughly bored. She and Puck had played every game they could think of- verbally, of course, because they couldn't use any other part of their body effectively- and it was still only mid-afternoon. The faerie boy wasn't doing much better, complaining to no end about how life sucked, how Sabrina was an idiot, and how <em>hungry<em> he was. They hadn't eaten since yesterday's scallion pancake dinner, and both were starving.

"Ugh, Grimm, when is she coming to feed us?" he grumbled. "My stomach needs food!"

"I know, I know," Sabrina snapped. "It's not like I'm not hungry, either, but something tells me she's not coming."

He sunk back into his ropes and glared. "What's your problem, anyway?" he asked sullenly.

"What's _my_ problem? Seriously, Puck? I'm not the one who's been complaining for the past half an hour."

"Well, you _have_ been ignoring me, lately."

Great. This was going places Sabrina had been trying to detour. But... It had to come out sometime, right? And it was probably better she release it all now, away from Daphne's prying eyes and ears. "Look, Puck... I want to talk about, um..."

He raised an eyebrow, and she noticed that his eyes were almost completely back to their usual emerald green, not the fierce blue that they'd been early that morning. "Go on, Ugly."

His insult made her more irritated, which made the words spill out quicker. "You've been a jerk, Puck. I- I don't know what to think anymore. When we... kissed... I thought that we had something. That our relationship would _at least _become more bearable. But you ignored me, you haven't said a word about the kiss, and you've started... dating Kathryn." Saying it left a bad taste in her mouth, but at the same time she felt relieved. He knew how she felt. The truth was, finally, out. And although it pained her, Sabrina felt free.

Puck looked uncomfortable, struggling for words. "You want to know the truth?" he finally blurted, grimacing.

Sabrina eyed him. "Well, I just spilled my guts out to you, so I'd expect nothing _less_ than the truth."

"Igmtmbarssed," he mumbled, turning a little pink.

"I can't understand you," Sabrina coaxed dryly, seeing that this was a little difficult for the normally super-confident Trickster King. His eyes drifted to the ground, finally rising back to meet hers.

"I got embarrassed," Puck finally sighed. "You can't imagine... after four thousand years of calling yourself the Trickster King, when you have an impeccable reputation as a scoundrel, are the mean and nasty emperor of pranksters... when you're the boy hero to nations of snickering layabouts... when your kingdom is the wrong side of the tracks..." He looked torn. "After that long, to suddenly snap and be someone you haven't ever been before... it's jarring. You can't imagine how badly I slept that night... thanks a lot." Sabrina rolled her eyes, but the gesture barely meant anything. She was intrigued by his words. "And in the morning, I was so frustrated at myself for screwing up my reputation, I vowed to pretend nothing had ever happened."

"This was all for a stupid reputation?" Sabrina asked, more surprised than angry (although she _was_ pissed, there was no doubt about that). She knew Puck valued his 'impeccable reputation', but she'd honestly thought he'd choose her over being a delinquent. It hurt to know that she'd assumed wrong.

"At the time, yeah," Puck admitted guiltily. "Hey, it's not easy to feel good about ruining a four-thousand year reputation in a matter of seconds!"

She waved her hand dismissively. Sabrina had feelings for the quirky faerie boy; she could stand to let this one go... Or to wait until later. "Whatever, go on."

Puck frowned. "I don't know _how _regular guys deal with relationships, because I failed at keeping it cool with Kathryn. I didn't even _know_ she liked me until she came up and asked me out, but then I caught your eye... and I got really embarrassed again... So I said yes."

If her arms had been untied, Sabrina would have certainly punched him. She remembered vividly how angry she'd been that day in the cafeteria, and wasn't willing to forgive the selfish faerie that easily.

Puck must have seen this, because he blushed. "Well, geez, I'm a villain of the worst kind, Grimm! What do you expect?"

"I thought you cared about other people's feelings!" she shouted. "I thought you cared about _me!_ Do you have any freakin' idea how stupid I felt?"

"Do you know how dumb _I_ felt walking around with that leech clinging to me all day?" Puck retorted.

"Kathryn's not a leech! She's my best friend, clingy or not, and I love her to death. It's not her fault she didn't know that I-" Sabrina stopped herself. She'd almost told Puck her secret, the one thing she'd hidden from her family since moving to Ferryport Landing. She prayed Puck was as dumb as he looked, but his words suggested otherwise.

"What?"

Sabrina pretended to be innocent. "What's what?"

Puck sighed, rolling his bright green eyes. "Grimm, don't play stupid with me. You cut off what you were going to say."

"Maybe I'll tell you later," she replied coolly. "That is, if we live. I haven't exactly forgiven you."

Puck shifted in his rope binds, grimacing. "This is a pretty unconventional way to keep a person immobile," he muttered, changing the subject.

"But it's effective," Sabrina added, "_and_ enforced by magic. This Maleficent person is no joke."

A cool breeze shifted in the trees, reminding Sabrina how grateful she was that she still had her coat on. A dark shadow crossed overhead, and Sabrina swore she heard giant, leathery wings flap. Great. Maleficent was back from... from wherever she'd been. Vaguely, the girl wondered if the Draman had heard Sabrina utter her name. She knew it could be entirely possible.

Seconds later, the evil sorceress stepped out from the thickest clump of trees, smiling cruelly. She looked as perfectly evil as she had that morning, even after flying around in dragon form. "Ah, my little lovebirds," she crooned, arching an eyebrow.

Sabrina felt herself blush. Across from her, Puck went scarlet as well. Both held their tongue, however. Even the Trickster King could realize that talking back to Maleficent wasn't a good idea.

"I've just been speaking to some of my loyal subjects, and they will be ready to proceed with the ceremony at eight thirty sharp. Nottingham wanted to be sure I explained how exactly you were going to die," Maleficent purred dangerously.

Sabrina scowled at the mention of her family's old nemesis' name. Nottingham, the devilish brute, had been wounded in the war, and Sabrina would have thought he'd crawled back into his hole to nurse his tattered pride. Earlier evidence suggested he would have abandoned the Scarlet Hand, but that must have been wrong. Maybe the man wasn't as much as a slimy rat as previously thought- not that she had any respect for him either way.

"I'm sure that's not necessary," Sabrina answered.

"Oh, but it only adds to the fun, doesn't it?"

Puck struggled against the ropes. "It's _completely_ unnecessary!" he argued. "You won't be killing us either way! We'll bust out of here somehow!"

Maleficent casually flicked her green-tinted fingers. A small spark burst out and hit the faerie in the chest, zapping him. He jerked, and then looked up woozily. "Thawazntverynice," he accused, slurring. Sabrina didn't think so, either, glaring daggers at the evil woman.

"Anyway," Maleficent continued, an irritated edge in her voice, "I expect my captives to behave. All of the great warlocks of the age have been working for centuries, trying to find loopholes in the barrier's magic, and they will be attending. They truly have accomplished a miracle."

Sabrina froze. "Wait- I thought the only way to break the barrier was to kill off all of the Grimms!" That option was bad enough, but if they had discovered another...

"No, ignorant child. You Grimms have lived on the false knowledge that that is the only way. But my... scholars, let's call them... have discovered another loophole. If a group of more than ten Everafters gather, all truly believing that in breaking the barrier, the most good will be done-"

"But that's a LIE!" Sabrina exploded. Maleficent shot her a look that could kill.

"Quiet! Or do you want to get sparked, as well? As I was _saying_, if those ten or more Everafters gather, with a Grimm willing to sacrifice themselves to bring down the barrier, it will be done. Of course, there are a few more minor details... but I'm sure you get the gist of things."

"But no Grimm would be willing to sacrifice themselves for something like that," Sabrina urged. _Especially not me! We've worked too hard for this!_

"Oh, but I think you'll find you will." Maleficent gestured to Puck. "If you do not, he, and the rest of your family, will die in front of your eyes, slowly and painfully... one by one. Believe me, it _will_ happen."

Sabrina's blood ran cold. She had no doubts the Draman witch would do something of the sort, and that knowledge terrified her. It also scared her that Maleficent was right in other respects, too. Sabrina _knew_ that, with the rest of her family's lives on the line, she would sacrifice herself. She had exhibited this only recently. And even if she refused, one of her other family members would crack, of this she was positive.

When the girl didn't answer, Maleficent smiled. Sabrina shuddered. She and Mirror really would have made a powerful couple, if the backstabbing traitor had lived.

"I think I want you to leave now," Sabrina growled.

"Of course. You must need time alone with your thoughts," Maleficent taunted coolly. "You know you have lost, Sabrina Grimm, and will pay the price for your deeds. Cooperate... or your family will suffer for your mistakes."

The sorceress spread her arms, and suddenly a terrible transformation began to take place. Her skin was suddenly scaly and rock hard, her face lengthened into a long snout, a mouth full of pointy, two inch long teeth hissing bright green gas. Her eyes glowed bloodred, and she exploded in size, suddenly the height of most mature pine trees. Huge wings expanded from where her arms used to be, leathery and coal black. Her underbelly remained dirty green.

Sabrina swallowed hard, as Puck swore ferociously- "I wish _I_ could do that!" -,and tried to think of any possible way to defeat this deadly witch. It bothered her she could think of none.

The dragon screeched, and Sabrina cringed. It sounded like nails on a blackboard, and it made her ears hurt. Maleficent's leathery wings flapped once, twice, and she was suddenly soaring away, leaving two stunned teenagers and an icy silence.

And then, against her best judgement, Sabrina felt a tear slip down her cheek. "Puck, I'm doomed," she whispered. "You _know_ I won't refuse tonight- and that's only hours away!"

He leaned forward, his head now only inches away. "Okay, here's what we're going to do, Grimm. I need you to stop being such a baby, and get your head on straight. When she comes back and unties us, I'll transform into something huge and bust us outta here. We can beat her, it'll just take a bit of effort."

Sabrina wiped her eyes on her shoulder. "I don't think you understand. Puck, she's not like Mirror. She's not a reflection."

Puck huffed impatiently. "I don't think _you_ understand, Sabrina Grimm! If you started thinking positively for once, maybe we could actually figure a way out of here!"

"Shut up, Puck," she snapped. He didn't understand. _He_ wasn't the one who would be sacrificing all that her family had tried so hard to build tonight. _He_ wasn't the one who had to make the impossible choice. _He_-

He interrupted her with a kiss. It was so sudden, so shocking, she did nothing for a moment. And then when it registered with her what was happening, she surprised herself by kissing him back, even if for a second. Then he pulled away, cheeks burning brightly. "If you tell anyone," he threatened, "I will cheerfully beat you to death."

Sabrina snuggled deep into her ropes. "Uh... yuh... sure..." She was so embarrassed, so happy, so overwhelmed, that all that she could do was mumble.

But he'd given her a gift. The gift of hope. If Puck, the king of the wrong side of the tracks, could willingly kiss a girl, she could escape Maleficent, couldn't she?


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry, I've been off on Christmas holiday. We went down to Florida, it was fun, don't blame me for going all googly eyed and forgetting about you guys.**

**Secondly: WTF, several of my stories have been nominated for Elliegoat's best SG fanfic of 2011? I'm a Fanfiction baby! A child! I'm not even a year old! Gracious, readers, you're making me blush. I'd love to rant about how thankful I am right now, how you guys MADE MY YEAR, but you can see the full thank you on my profile. :) I'm seriously in shock, though. And make sure you go find Elliegoat's story and vote for your favorite 2011 SG fics! It ends soon!**

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><p>Sabrina must have drifted off into a dreamless sleep, and for this she was grateful. It had been extremely awkward trying not to catch Puck's embarrassed gaze, and she'd been blushing nonstop. Puck. Had. Kissed. Her.<p>

They were certainly on a roller coaster ride of a relationship, weren't they? She certainly hadn't forgiven him for the emotional torment he'd inflicted upon her, and probably wouldn't for a while, but his simple (and Lord, it had been embarrassing!) gesture probably earned him a few brownie points. Ugh. Relationships were so complicated. How did Uncle Jake manage it all?

Sabrina shifted in her ropes. Her back had been becoming increasingly sore, and her tight binds were giving her leg some sort of charley horse. Ouch.

She blinked. Puck was snoring, slouching diagonally, and drooling all over his green hoodie. If they lived, that thing was definitely going through the wash, no questions asked. Thinking of the possibility that she might- again- die, Sabrina glanced up and the sky with a growing horror. Through the thick pine needles, she saw that the sky was a rich purple.

"Shit." Sabrina grimaced- swearing was not her thing. But perhaps the circumstances justified it.

What time was it, anyway? Maleficent could be here at any minute, and then they'd all be doomed. Time to wake Puck up; she wasn't going to worry about this alone.

"Hey. Stinkpot."

Puck snorted, shifted, and went right on snoring. Trust him to be comfortable at a time like this.

"Puck," she coaxed, "Kraven the Deciever will burn at the stake _slowly and painfully_ if you do not wake up right NOW."

She tried to kick him, but only succeeded in tapping the tip of his tattered sneaker. Damn ropes. Luckily, the faerie's subconscious must have registered that his stuffed unicorn could be in danger, and slowly Puck's bright green eyes opened and came into focus.

"Hey, Grimm," he yawned, looking around. He looked a bit shocked, like he couldn't believe their captivity hadn't just been a bad dream. "We're really in deep this time, eh?"

Sabrina tried and failed to resist a glare. "I see that you're in a cheery mood, given the fact we're all about to die."

He blushed. "I'm kinda trying to avoid a subject, here, Grimm. It isn't easy."

She turned scarlet, then, too. But Sabrina knew she couldn't let their... personal issues... get them off track. If they wanted to save the humans, they had to act fast, before-

"I'm here, darlings!"

"Where's the welcoming committee?" Puck muttered, his seemingly cheery mood dissolving as the evil Draman glided gracefully into view.

"If you want me to gather some of my hobgoblins, they will be here at a moment's notice," Maleficent hissed. Puck simply glared; the idea of some warty half-breeds tugging him around must have repulsed him as much as it disgusted Sabrina. "Besides, you'll see them soon enough. The ceremony begins as soon as possible, so I'm here to gather you."

The sorceress held out her gilded staff, and it sparked with white hot energy. Instantly, Sabrina and Puck's ropes disappeared, and the two teenagers collapsed onto the forest floor, unused to using their legs.

Sabrina couldn't help the faint blush that crept up her cheeks as she bumped into the faerie; contact was unavoidable as they had been tied up so close to one another, and she couldn't say she didn't enjoy that a bit.

But it soon disappeared as she was suddenly encased in a bright white light, and when it disappeared, she could not move a muslce. Paralyzed. Maleficent had paralyzed her. Luckily, she still had the use of her eyes, and looked over to Puck. He was completely still, leading her to the conclusion that the faerie was frozen, too.

"Good, you're cooperating," Maleficent muttered, rather sarcastically. With another wave of her long staff, the world bent out of focus, and Sabrina had the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that she was not connected to reality anymore. Rather, they seemed to be on the outskirts, the edges of sanity, traveling through some space/time breach...

And then they were back, except not where they had left from.

A huge, flat boulder had been set vertically into the ground, directly behind a large fire pit. Chains had been nailed into its stony surface. Surrounded by trees and in the darkest hour of twilight, it looked to Sabrina to be some sort of wooded torture chamber.

Ah, this was not going to play out well.

From the shadows of the forest came creatures, the majority of them looking tired and bloodthirsty. Some had fading Scarlet Hand prints on their chests, and others- the more sinister ones- had the claw print, the same one Sabrina had discovered when Maleficent had trashed her room.

A creature that looked to be a crocodile, but wasn't quite, roughly grabbed Sabrina's arm and dragged her over to the rock; another grabbed Puck. She was helpless to resist as they chained her wrists at her sides and her feet to the ground. The only good thing that came of the new imprisonment was that the paralysis vanished as soon as they were properly secured.

Maleficent raised her hand and beckoned to some elderly wizards hunched near a withering pine. They scrambled over to the Draman and bowed at her feet. Then they began to converse amongst themselves. _They're probably plotting how to kill us after we've taken down their stupid barrier,_ Sabrina thought grimly. _Oh god, they're going to kill us. _

She was suddenly struck with such fear that her breath hitched in her throat. She was too young to die. She was too young for any of this. Sabrina didn't want to be fighting for the human race- she wanted to go home and play Monopoly with her family.

"P-Puck?" she whispered.

"Hmph." Puck looked so angry steam was actually coming out of his ears. It ruffled Sabrina's hair and warmed her cheeks, but it did little to warm her spirits.

"I... I can't do this! I'm going to screw up, and let Granny Relda down, but I can't just say no, because then they'll all die, too..." Her breath hitched again, and Sabrina knew she was moments from a mental breakdown.

"Whoa, whoa," Puck said, a bit surprised. He stretched out his hand as far as it could reach in the chains and grasped Sabrina's cold fingers. "Don't hyperventilate on me, Grimm."

Sabrina was seriously considering hyperventilating. It sounded better than condemning the human race, at the moment. "I want... I need... my mother!" Yes, that sounded nice. Before she died, all Sabrina Grimm wanted was a mother's hug. Veronica's hug.

Puck, always optimistic, frowned. "She's not here, Grimm."

Ugh! He wasn't helping! Why were boys so thick? Sabrina needed hope, some last bit of retribution, and fast. Maleficent's council looked almost done. "I get that, Puck, I'm just... so..." Terrified? Frightened beyond hope? Yeah, that about summed it up. She took a deep breath. "Puck."

The poor faerie looked harrassed; he obviously had no idea what could be possessing the girl beside him. "What?" he griped, a little exasperated. "I'm trying to devise a way out of here."

"Tell me the truth. Please, just tell me the truth."

Their eyes met, sapphire on emerald. "Tell you what?"

"I need to know. Before I die. Do you... do you love me?"

_We're barely even teenagers, I know. This is so awkward. But I need to know. Because I love you, Puck, you stupid stinkpot, and I don't think anything could change that. I need to know you're behind me before I make any stupid choices about the fate of the world. Oh god, I need you. _

Sabrina, so many emotions bubbling up inside of her, closed her eyes and waited for the faerie boy's reaction.

"Love's an awfully strong word, Grimm..." She winced, her heart shattering. No. He was rejecting her. Talk about ruined reputations... "But I suppose what I feel must be, uh, love, 'cause I can't find anything stronger to sum it up." Heartbreak? Psh. Sabrina was on Cloud Nine.

Suddenly, she could do this. She could face the enemy, she could outwit Maleficent somehow. Sabrina Grimm had no other options but to die trying. Fighting a losing battle or not, she would try her hardest. And Puck the Trickster King would be at her side.

"Thanks." She simply grasped his hand tighter and met the gaze of the deadly sorceress who vowed to kill her. "Let's do this."

* * *

><p>Nottingham was pathetic. It was almost silly how miserable the man looked, and Puck let a chuckle slip as the Sheriff tottered up with an armful of firewood. His leg was in a huge black cast, which he limped with heavily, his greasy black hair, once so neatly combed down, now resembled an afro, and he had the expression of a puppy kicked once too often.<p>

"Shut it, Tinkerbell," Nottingham hissed at Puck, who turned bright red.

"You're calling me TINKERBELL? Look who's talking, you slimeball!"

Sabrina pinched Puck. "Sh! Just... relax."

He shot her a very confused look. "Um, hypocrite?" She ignored him.

Nottingham laid down the firewood and took out a box of matches. He lit one, and had soon coaxed a roaring bonfire to life. Sabrina was vaguely glad for the heat, but she was mostly focusing on Maleficent and the warlocks.

An especially wizened old man checked a battered watch and glanced up at his mistress. "It's almost time, m'lady."

Maleficent nodded, and all of the warlocks gathered on the opposite side of the fire, their faces aglow in the blaze. Sabrina had never felt such hate, except for maybe against Mirror. The Draman arched an eyebrow regally, meeting Sabrina's icy cold gaze as an equal, and began.

"We all know how long we have waited for this day," she began, a bit quietly at first. Yet her tone was so filled with venom she had the entire population's attention. "To rid ourselves of the Grimm vermin, and their... pets." This was pointed directly at Puck, and although Sabrina realized this, the faerie did not. That was probably a good thing, though, because he would have gotten really angry. "Finally, Sabrina Grimm, one of their last living descendants, will help free us. Sabrina, dear, I only need you to utter a simple phrase." Now Maleficent was grinning. The witch could sense freedom, and was eagerly moving toward it. "The rest has been taken care of. Obviously everyone else here wants the barrier to fall..."

"Um, you're forgetting someone," Puck snapped. "I'm with Grimm, here."

If looks could kill, Puck would be dead fifty times over. But Maleficent continued, trying to ignore the boy. "As I was saying to _Sabrina,_ she need only say, 'I free you Everafters from your ancient binds'."

Sabrina stared at the sorceress, and couldn't resist: "That's it? It's a bit, anticlimatic, huh?"

The bonfire suddenly twisted and formed a huge dragon, looming over Sabrina and spitting sparks and balls of flame. "Would you like it to be climatic, then?" Maleficent asked darkly.

"N-no, I was just..."

It was Puck's turn to pinch Sabrina.

The fire-dragon disappeared, and Maleficent swooped over to where Sabrina was chained. "That's all I need, darling. Those eight simple words will bring no harm to your family. I will have mercy on you." Smiling cruelly, the witch let a long, green finger brush a piece of Sabrina's hair back- just like Veronica used to.

Disgusted, Sabrina wiggled away from Maleficent.

"Oh, you have nowhere to go, Miss Grimm. Now, start talking!" The small growd laughed in anticipation.

Sabrina squeezed Puck's hand so hard his knuckles turned white. "P-Puck, I have to do it," she whispered. "I have no choice."

He nodded grimly. "I wish I could say otherwise, but I guess you're right. Don't worry... we'll find a way to stop her once she's out."

"Stay with me," Sabrina choked out.

"Always."

Then she turned her head back to face the remnants of the Scarlet Hand, and tried to act fierce and determined- everything she did not actually feel. Clearing her throat, with tears suddenly pouring down her cheeks, Sabrina began to recite the words that would take down her family's legacy in an instant.

"I-I free you Everafters from-"

"WAIT, 'BRINA, NO!" someone screamed. Sabrina stopped, shocked. No. That-that voice. It was too familiar. It couldn't be- she couldn't be here!

But against all of her older sister's mental prayers, Daphne Grimm stepped from the shadows, wand drawn threateningly.

"No one hurts my sister."

* * *

><p><strong>Short-ish chapter, but it builds toward the climax! I don't usually like Daphne Grimm, but I think it's her turn to take control, since Sabrina's always the savior. <strong>

**Yay, Puck and Sabrina have it all sorted out! And the title finally makes sense! :) OOC, psh. Whatever. I don't care. It was literally written at one thirty in the morning. **

**Once again, I'd like to say thank you to all of those who nominated me in the 2011 contest. I'll be putting in a few of my own nominations soon enough. **

**Have a splendid end of the year! **

**-ahack6**


	14. Chapter 14

**I've said pretty much everything I needed to for an introduction in the last chapter, so... yeah. Listening to Pandora again, silly me, and decided the theme for this chapter is Ass Back Home by Gym Class Heroes. **

* * *

><p>"Daphne, what are you doing?" Sabrina screeched. Her little sister was too young for this! She was going to get herself killed!<p>

"I'm saving your butt, obviously!" Daphne replied, scowling. "No one else at home could find you. But I did. And I'm not leaving till I bring you guys back with me."

Maleficent laughed. "Oh, this is cute. The little Grimm, come to put on a heroic show. Well, you're a bit outnumbered, Daphne, and your sister was almost done, so why don't we let her finish?"

"Sabrina, no, don't say anything!" Daphne cried.

Terrified, Sabrina stayed quiet.

Maleficent's eyes hardened. "Wrong decision, Sabrina." She flicked her fingers, and suddenly at least fifty nasty Everafters materialized out of the woods and advanced on Daphne, growling and screaming for Grimm blood.

_Oh god, what have I done? _Sabrina thought desperately. She struggled against her chains, Puck doing the same beside her. "The Marshmallow is going to get herself killed!" he cried.

But contrary to popular belief, Daphne Grimm _didn't_ get herself killed. She raised her wand, shouted, "Gimme some lightning!", and was instantly surrounded by huge bolts of raw energy. They targeted each and every Everafter who had been coming after her, and within minutes none were left standing.

Maleficent's eyes blazed, and Sabrina could tell her sister had just made the Draman very, very angry. "You've just made a grave decision, Daphne, one that could very well end your life. I knew you were powerful... more so than even Mirror suspected, but to challenge me..." She took out her staff and walked straight through the fire, coming out the other end completely unscathed.

"You don't know what you're messing with," Daphne snapped. Sabrina did a mental facepalm. Didn't her sister realize how powerful Maleficent was? Hadn't Sabrina made that clear?

The sorceress laughed, clearly thinking along the same lines. "Do I? Well, we'll soon find out." Her expression hardening, Maleficent pointed her gilded staff at Daphne, and it erupted in green energy.

Sabrina screamed, but Daphne had already deftly blocked the attack. "Daph, you've got to stop this!" Sabrina begged. How long could her sister stand up to the evil witch before she messed up, or worse, died? Had Sabrina made the wrong decision in staying silent? Had she doomed Daphne?

"I'm fine, Sabrina! I'm not a baby anymore!" Daphne growled, stepping further out of the shadows. Maleficent stepped closer, too, and the battle intensified. Daphne now sent out her own attacks, blinding slashes of raw magic, bolts of lightning, fiery spheres... Sabrina was shocked into silence. She'd known Daphne was way more powerful than herself due to Sabrina's addiction, but this was big magic.

The sky began to swirl, the clouds turning a muddy green color.

"Puck," Sabrina hissed, "We have to do something. She's powerful, but Daphne's not that strong. She's not even ten years old yet."

"It's not like I haven't been trying to get out of these chains since the second we were put into them," Puck retorted. "Like you said, they're probably magically- WHOA!"

One of Daphne's bolts of magic was hurtling toward the teenagers, and it slammed into the boulder directly between their heads. The chains on their wrists and ankles melted, but left angry burns in their place. The rock was completely pulverized, turned into pebbles and sand.

Sabrina collapsed onto the ground, her head pounding like a bass drum. She felt weak and fatigued, and her fingers were tingling from all the magic in the air. But she had to get to Daphne. It was obvious the little girl held her own in the fight, but it was also clear she was getting tired. Maleficent didn't even look like she'd broken a sweat.

Standing up dizzily, she glanced around for Puck. Sabrina found him about five yards away, lying on his back, unconscious. Conflicted, she stood between rushing toward her sister and swooping down to care for Puck. But she knew who was in more danger, and the winner was Daphne.

She charged forward, rushing over to help her sister. Addiction or not, she would play her part in defeating this witch. Maleficent paused for a moment and scowled. "Sabrina Grimm, you stay out of this."

"She's my sister! I'm not staying out of anything!"

"You've always been a thorn in my side," Maleficent hissed. "And a murderous one, at that." And then her staff was whistling through the air, pointing at Sabrina, and the girl was thrown backwards, burning in fiery pain...

* * *

><p>Sabrina was fighting a battle, yes, but it was purely mental, one of willpower. She was choosing whether or not to succumb to death.<p>

Death itself was like a huge black hole, sucking her in, welcoming her. But Sabrina was holding on to life, if even by a tiny thread. She couldn't die yet. What would happen to her family? Yet... death... it looked so comfortable... She slipped on the thread of life which she so desperately grasped. The thread itself was fraying... the option of death becoming more of a decision every second...

No. She mustn't think like that. She had to remember her family. Faces flashed through her mind.

Her dad. Stubborn, protective Henry, who insisted on treating his girls like toddlers. Her mom. Fiercely protective Veronica loved her children with a vigor that matched her strength. Her uncle Jake. He always had a magical remedy and a smile at hand. Mr. Canis. The softspoken old man had sacrificed so much for the Grimms. Red Riding Hood. Sabrina wished she could have hugged the shy girl when she'd had the chance. Her sister. Sweet, carefree Daphne, who knew so much about magic and still had the innocence to match it with. Elvis. The family's huge Great Dane never failed to put in a well-timed lick or fart when things got awkward. Her Granny Relda. That woman had loved the girls unconditionally from the start, even when things got rather messy. Puck. Her Puck. Through thick and thin, pranking or no pranking, he'd always been there for her.

Suddenly, at the thought of Puck, the fraying thread became a steel cable, strong and firm. Sabrina was filled with confidence, and in an instant, death didn't seem so daunting anymore. The cable began to pull her up, up, and away, and the pull of death faded until it was only a dream...

* * *

><p>"Mom, look! Look at the monitor!"<p>

"Oh, Daphne... The nurse said this would happen. Sabrina's in a coma. She's not going to wake up."

"But her heart, Mom! It's beating faster! And look, she's breathing more!"

"Sh. You shouldn't shout so loudly."

"Mom, why don't you believe me?"

"Daphne..."

"What, you're siding with her, too, Dad?"

"The chances of your sister waking up now are slim, honey. Sprat said we shouldn't push our luck."

"Hank, Veronica, perhaps it's not best to be pessimists."

"Mom, Sprat said Sabrina's likely to be in a coma for months! I'm being reasonable!"

"See, Dad?"

"Daphne, enough."

Sabrina took a deep breath while the voices argued. Yuck. The air smelled of medicine. She was in a hospital... again. Wait - hadn't she just been fighting for her life? In a coma, apparently?

Her life was so messed up...

"I told you, Mom! She's waking up!" Daphne's voice cried. Daphne. She was all right! Had they escaped from Maleficent for the time being? Sabrina was so confused...

The only thing to do now was wake up, so the girl blinked, even though she had a pounding headache. Daphne stood over her, grinning proudly. "I told you guys. I did!"

"Daph," Sabrina murmured, a little surprised at how rough and weak her voice sounded. Her sister leaned down and hugged her.

"It sure took you long enough!" Daphne squealed. "I haven't been home in four days."

"F-four days? Do you mean to say... I was out for _four_ days?" Sabrina spluttered, looking around in surprise. Everyone else gathered around the bed- Veronica, Henry, and Granny Relda - nodded sadly. They looked kind of shell-shocked and worn. Henry had bags under his eyes so big, he looked like he'd been punched. Veronica and Granny looked stressed to pieces. "I-I'm sorry!"

Granny Relda smiled. "It was never your fault, _liebling._ Never."

"And," Henry added, shooting a loaded look at Daphne, "the threat's been dealt with."

Daphne giggled. "I'm grounded for four months, one for each day you were in a coma."

At Sabrina's questioning look, Veronica smiled exasperatingly. "She snuck out of the house to look for you one morning. We had no idea where she was; she worried us to bits. She would have been grounded for four _years_ had the circumstances been different."

"Circumstances?" Sabrina echoed. "What circumstances?"

Henry looked like he wanted to both grin and frown at the same time. "She killed Maleficent."

Everyone in the room paused to see Sabrina's reaction. The girl simply blinked, a million thoughts racing through her head. _It's over... Finally, it's over. She's not going to terrorize us anymore. But... was death the right way? Could she have been changed? And what about - oh, what about her baby? We killed an innocent child! Well... fetus. _For a moment, Sabrina felt sick, relieved, and exhausted at the same time. She only had one question, though.

"How?"

Daphne cut Henry off as he started to explain. "Well, after Maleficent shot that spell at you, and you... kinda... died or something, I got really angry. I wanted to help, but she was taunting me, and eventually I got so mad the wand just sorta took over, and suddenly she was dead."

Sabrina had never been so proud. She sat up, ignoring the stiffness in her joints, and wrapped her arms around her little sister, pulling her into a tight hug.

"You did it, Daph," she murmured. "Now... when can we go home?"

* * *

><p>Since tomorrow was Friday, and because of certain recent events, Henry and Veronica allowed the girls to skip school for the rest of the week. They were doing a lot of that, lately, Sabrina noticed. But it was probably for the best. For one, things would be very awkward between the little Sabrina, Kathryn and Puck love triangle, and secondly, she really didn't want to answer all of the questions she'd be getting about her absence. And then there was the homework. Ugh.<p>

Thinking of Puck, Sabrina wondered where the faerie had gone off to. She hadn't seen him at all since waking up, and now they were driving home without him...

"Granny?"

_"Liebling? _Is everything okay?"

Sabrina nodded. "Yeah, I was just wondering where Puck was."

She ignored how Daphne bit her palm and smiled and instead focused on her grandmother's reply.

"Oh, he went back to the house with Jacob, Basil, Red and Mr. Canis a few days ago. They're all so excited to have you home!"

Sabrina smiled slightly, knowing that she'd be bombarded with questions - by Uncle Jake in particular. Once, she might have dreaded it, but now she just wanted to grab her whole family and hug them for a long time.

As Granny Relda parked in front of the house, Sabrina was amazed at how normal the yard looked. Just a few days earlier it had resembled a war zone. Now it was perfectly manicured, with two new lovely trees planted where the deepest craters had been.

As soon as she got out of the car, the door flew open and Uncle Jake hurried down the porch steps, Basil in his arms. The baby was giggling loudly and reaching for his mom, who took him without hesitation. Jake bent down and gave Sabrina a long hug.

"For a while there... I thought you were a goner," he said. "Good thing ol' Peanut ran away to find you. I swear, she has a sixth sense or something."

Yes, yes, it was all very fine and dandy that Daphne had killed Maleficent, but all Sabrina wanted to do now was sleep, so she told everyone she was going up to the guest room to catch some Z's. Even being up for a few hours had exhausted her, and her headache was back with a vengeance.

"Wait - Brina," Veronica called. "We redid your room for you, if you'd like to sleep there."

Sabrina was surprised. "When? And - er - thank you."

"When you were in the hospital," Henry replied. "We really had nothing to do, and then your mom decided we were going to redecorate..."

Veronica frowned. "Hank, wipe that look off of your face. You had fun, too!" Henry shrugged guiltily, and their daughters laughed.

Daphne gave Sabrina an encouraging push toward the house. "C'mon, Sabrina, you'll love it!"

"Ouch! Okay, I'm going, Daph." Sabrina opened the door and stepped inside, breathing in the scent of home. It was much better than the smell of moldy ropes and damp pine needles. Stepping over a pile of books, she headed toward the stairs. She couldn't help but notice that there were maps of Ferryport Forest everywhere; her family had certainly been searching.

Soon Sabrina was standing at the door of her apparently redecorated room. Daphne bounced excitedly behind her. "Open it!" she squeaked. And Sabrina did.

Holy cow. This was awesome. It had obviously been magically expanded, but the room still looked like a regular bedroom. The walls were painted lime green, but there were purple accents everywhere, from the fluffy purple rug on the wood floor to the green and purple comforter on the bed - which was brand new. There was a new vanity in one corner, and a large bookcase in another. Her dresser had been moved to another wall to make room for a large beanbag. A small, funky chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling while purple and green lanterns hung over strategic spots (her bed, the vanity, the beanbag).

It was definitely a teenage girl's room, and Sabrina found herself wishing she'd had this forever. She'd always been content to sleep in her father's old room, with all of the model airplanes and little trinkets from his boyhood, but having her own space was wonderful. Even better, Daphne wasn't sleeping here anymore.

"Wow," Sabrina managed.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Daphne said, almost wistfully.

Her older sister smiled slightly. "Well, next time you're in a coma I'm sure they'll redo the guest room for you. But for now..." she yawned, "I'm going to bed."

Daphne left and Sabrina changed into more comfortable clothing before climbing into her new bed. It was extraordinarily comfy, and all she wanted to do was grin.

She was home.

* * *

><p><strong>REMIND ME TO SAVE EVERY SIX SENTENCES. I had like fifteen long, beautiful paragraphs written and then I switched windows to change my Pandora song, and when I came back... POOF. ALL GONE. <strong>

**As you probably realize, I am beyond frustrated. There was some good **** in those paragraphs! ;O Anyway, this is a LOOONG chapter, in my opinion. I just wanted to fit everything in, and hopefully you guys enjoyed the length of it. **

**Review! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yay, updates! They always come quicker with reviews, and it helps that I'm nearing the end of this sequel. Notice that I didn't say story, though, because I have an idea... :) And I might publish said idea in 2012 so that it could be eligible for the Best SG Story of 2012 contest. *smart thinking***

**I would also like to brag a little bit; finally, this story has reached 100 reviews (Curlscat got the 100th)! I'm so happy, though it hardly compares with some other fics. :) Whatever. **

**Thanks for all the positive feedback! I love you guys!**

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><p>When Sabrina woke up and checked her clock, she did a double-take. 6:50 AM? That must mean she'd slept through the rest of yesterday and last night. That was like sixteen hours of sleep! Wow... She sighed happily and pulled her new purple comforter up to her chin. Oh, it was so nice <em>not<em> to be tied to a tree anymore.

Thinking of her time in the woods, Sabrina once again thought of Puck. She was instantly worried. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been unconscious. Even though Granny Relda had made it seem like he was okay, Sabrina needed proof. She hopped out of bed and was on her way to the door when she caught her reflection in the new vanity's mirror.

Ugh. Was that her hair, or a rat's nest? And her skin was so dry... A little guiltily, Sabrina yanked a brush through her blonde hair until it was glossy and moisturized her skin. The lotion stung where it touched the burns on her ankles and wrists, and the girl winced, rubbing them uncomfortably as she made her way down the hall to Puck's room.

As usual, she was cautious as she opened the door - a good thing, too, because a vat of what looked to be liquid Silly Putty dropped from the sky immediately, splashing all over the spot Sabrina would have been standing if she'd been any less wary. Now, to find that silly faerie.

It was fairly easy; as usual, Puck was sprawled out on his trampoline, snoring heavily and muttering about chimpanzees. But on the ground next to the trampoline was Granny Relda's ancient laptop, the one that overheated after fifteen minutes of use. Sabrina wasn't much of a techie and had never used it, and she would normally have assumed Puck would be the same way. Again, she'd assumed wrong about the faerie boy.

Picking it up, she sat crosslegged on the ground and lifted the screen. It buzzed to life, showing an open window. An Instant Messaging window... between Puck and who else but Sabrina's small friend Kathryn.

Without even reading the messages, Sabrina was instantly overwhelmed with anger. Puck had promised her. He'd said he'd told her the truth! How could he be communicating with Kathryn behind her back like this? Was _this_ the reason why he'd been ignoring her yesterday? But as she scrolled down the line of messages, she was surprised.

_Robin_Goodfellow: __Oh your on. good. _

_KathrynBird29: robin! why didnt we hang out this weekend? you promised meee!_

_Robin_Goodfellow: yeah about that... _

_KathrynBird29: what? about what?_

_Robin_Goodfellow: i need to break this relationship off sorry_

_KathrynBird29: ... what r u saying, robin?_

_Robin_Goodfellow: you were right. when you said i was distracted_

_KathrynBird29: seriously robin? you lied to me! i thought i trusted you_

_Robin_Goodfellow: i was embarrassed dont get mad!_

_KathrynBird29: its about brina isn't it? i hear the way you talk about her. well im done with you. done. we arent going to go to the dance together, i guess._

_Robin_Goodfellow: wait - it was that obvious?_

_KathrynBird29 has logged off._

_Robin_Goodfellow has logged off._

Sabrina shut the computer, feeling a lot of emotions bubble up inside of her. First, her friend was going to be absolutely incensed. Second, Puck had broken up with Kathryn for _her_ - and pretty much admitted he liked her, too. Third, Sabrina had forgotten that the dance was tonight.

This was just great.

* * *

><p>When Sabrina reminded her parents of the dance later that morning - after leaving Puck's room, very embarrassed - , both had acted skeptically.<p>

"I don't know if you're well enough, Savvy," Veronica said, spooning oatmeal into her bowl.

"Mom... I'm perfectly fine. I need to see my friends again!" Namely, Kathryn, so that they could get this all worked out.

Henry broke in. "I must say I feel the same way, although I see your point." Sabrina shot him a very loaded look and he sighed. "Okay, okay... I can't believe I'm saying this, but you could have a point. It'll be good for her to get out and hang out with normal kids."

"Way to be prejudiced," Uncle Jake called from the kitchen. Henry rolled his eyes.

"That means we get to go shopping," Daphne squealed. "Sabrina, you're going to _love_ this!"

Sabrina scowled at her younger sister. "Can it, Daphne."

Veronica chuckled and nodded. "She's right, though, 'Brina. I don't remember the last time I bought you a dress, and Snow did mention it was supposed to be a fairly formal event."

"Ugh." Sabrina was beginning to rethink going to this stupid dance in the first place. But her mom and sister launched into a conversation about dresses, and the older girl knew she was trapped.

She washed out her breakfast dishes and headed back upstairs. What was she going to say to Kathryn? _Hey, I stalked on your IMs and I'm totally sorry Robin dumped you for me!_ No, that was inappropriately evil. Maybe she could not mention it... but then things could get awkward. Or, perhaps, Sabrina could -

"Ouch, watch where you're going, stupid!" Puck exclaimed as she bumped into him.

"Oh - oops," Sabrina murmured distractedly. Her cheeks flushed pink.

His eyebrows flew upward. "_Oops?_ Is that the best you've got?"

"Is _stupid_ really the best greeting after four days in a coma?" Sabrina challenged.

He crossed his arms. "Touche. But seriously, what's up with the attitude?"

"I'm thinking," she replied honestly. "About Kathryn. What am I going to tell her?"

Puck shrugged. "That you got sick for a while. I dunno, you'll think of something."

"No, idiot, about the breakup! ...Oops." Sabrina flushed as Puck frowned.

"What do you know about the breakup?" he asked quietly. "That happened last night. You didn't - aw, Sabrina!"

She bowed her head. "I was going to find you, and I spotted the computer and got curious..."

"How am I supposed to trust you?" he snapped.

Immediately, she was on the defense. "You wanna talk about trust, pusbrain?" In the awkward silence that followed, both teenagers were suddenly very occupied with staring at the ground. "Look... I _probably_ shouldn't have snuck into your room. But let's leave it to blow over, okay?"

"Deal." Puck held out his hand, which was covered in what looked like grease stains and dirt. Sabrina didn't shake it; instead, in her passing, she lightly patted him on the back. "Loser!" he called immaturely after her. She couldn't help but smile.

When she got to room and started picking out clothes, Sabrina realized she couldn't remember the last shower she'd taken. Ew. Sniffing herself, she decided that she must have been cleansed at the hospital, but still felt stale and weird, and so headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. She spent an extra long time enjoying the warm water, and even shaved her legs because if she was going to be wearing a dress, she didn't want to look like King Kong.

A dress.

_Oh, I'm going to make such a fool of myself,_ Sabrina thought miserably. She'd never been to a school dance before, and had no idea what to do. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, speeding to her room to avoid a potentially awkward scene with Puck. What did people wear on such occasions? How did they do their hair? And, oh no, what about the makeup? Daphne was going to have a field day, though it comforted Sabrina her little sister was grounded.

She slipped on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved name-brand shirt, shivering. Wouldn't it be nice if this could pass as formal? And her hair, it would be lovely if all she had to do was blow dry it straight, as she usually did for school. Now, she simply towel-dried it and rubbed some anti-frizz creme in. Her blonde locks had a tendency to go a bit wild.

_See?_ She thought dryly, examining herself in the mirror. _This is _so_ formal. _

* * *

><p>"Mom, I feel like a doll."<p>

"Stop complaining. You look lovely."

"I feel fake!" Sabrina exclaimed, biting her lip and turning slightly. The figure standing in the mirror in front of her was _not_ the Sabrina Grimm she knew and loved. It was new, gorgeous, and... dressed up.

"Yeah, Puck won't be able to resist you!" Daphne chimed in. Her remark was met with a sharp punch to the shoulder.

"Sabrina," Veronica warned. "She's just being a kid."

"Yeah, well the _k__id_ can go shove her head up a-"

"Sabrina!"

Sabrina grumbled a bit but stayed quiet. Daphne looked half-hurt, half-amused, and handed her sister a pair of silver ballet flats.

The older girl eyed them skeptically. "Um, these are slippers."

"Fancy slippers," Daphne corrected. "They're totally in style." Usually, Sabrina would rather go out in a plastic bag than trust Daphne's fashion advice, but her gut feeling told her the little girl was probably right. Ugh. She slipped them on and shifted her feet so make sure they fit correctly.

"See?" Veronica said proudly. "You _do_ look lovely. Admit it."

Sabrina glanced in the mirror again, her expression half furious, half mortified. She was clothed in a spaghetti-strap silver dress that was tight until her waist, where it ruffled out down to her knees. It gave Sabrina's body some shape and made her look less like an almost-thirteen-year-old and more like a fourteen-year-old. The ballet flats matched perfectly, as was the plan, and so did the sparkly headband that held back the waves of her perfectly curled blonde hair.

And her face - don't get her started. She vowed that she would never again be subjected to such beautification again, not that she needed it. Veronica had skillfully covered up any imperfections on her daughter's face with a dot of concealer, added just a touch of blush, a smidgen of eyeshadow, and more mascara than Sabrina found necessary. It made her sapphire eyes pop - almost ridiculously, in the girl's opinion.

"I don't look like myself," Sabrina allowed, avoiding the question.

"Well, you'd best get downstairs. Your dad's planning to drive you guys to the school in about five minutes."

Sabrina scampered out of the bathroom, glad to be away from her family's adoring gazes. Honestly, it was just a dance - even if it was her first, and she was, in a way, looking forward to it.

Downstairs, Henry checked his watch. "You ready, Sabrina?" he asked when he heard her footsteps.

"Yep. Coming." She stepped to the bottom of the stairs and hurried to get her coat on, but not before both her father _and _the faerie on the couch had seen her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sabrina saw Puck flush a deep scarlet, and soon she was as red as a tomato, too. _C'mon, Sabrina, it was just a kiss... Oh, who are you kidding? You enjoyed it._

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><p>When Henry pulled into Ferryport Landing's only educational complex (aka, a smallish building passable for a school), Sabrina was first out of the car. "Bye, Dad!" she called, a typical teenager who wanted to get away from her dad.<p>

"Er... have a good time! Be safe, Savvy!" Henry looked about as comfortable letting his daughter go to a dance as Elvis in his Santa outfit. Sabrina chose to pay him no mind and hurried up the steps, looking for any sign of Carmen and Kathryn and trying her best not to look back and catch a glimpse of Puck. She'd been ignoring him the whole car ride, and didn't want to see how handsome he probably looked - for obvious reasons.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. For a minute, Sabrina froze with terror, expecting to see Maleficent's cruel gaze, but it was only Carmen. "Geez, did I scare you?" her friend asked, smiling. She was dressed formally, too, with a billowy lavender dress that hugged her figure and a cream rose in her dark hair.

"Oh, um, yeah..." Sabrina admitted, leaning into Carmen's embrace.

"Where have you been all week? Robin was gone, too, and Kathryn was going mental, I swear..."

Sabrina laughed nervously. "I was sick." To emphasize this, she let out a passable cough. Carmen didn't dwindle on it long, instead focusing her attention on sizing up Sabrina's outfit.

"You look gorgeous," she decided, grinning. Sabrina crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, but Carmen would have none of it. "Don't be silly, stupid. Let's go find Kathryn! I thought I saw her earlier..." She dragged Sabrina into the gym, which had been transformed into a dancefloor. Streamers hung from the ceiling, there was a refreshment stand on one wall, and huge stereos boomed out the latest tunes from another.

Wow.

But Sabrina was feeling nervous as Carmen led her toward a throng of people, spotting Kathryn in the middle. Would Kathryn be hostile?

Thankfully, no. The small girl smiled up at her two friends and greeted them warmly. "I haven't seen you in forever, girl!" she said to Sabrina.

"Yeah. Bad flu," Sabrina replied, trying to smile convincingly.

"That sucks. Anyway... why don't we go to a corner? I need to tell you something before we start dancing." Uh oh. Sabrina bit her lip as Kathryn led the two girls to a secluded corner near the refreshment stand. "Okay. Last night, I was messaging Robin..."

Sabrina rearranged her expression until it was one of pitiful concern, knowing what was coming.

"...and he broke up with me. That little _bastard_ broke up with me! He was rude about it, too... hardly even apologized!" Kathryn exclaimed. She shot an angry look out in the crowd. "If he's here, I hope he knows I'm not dancing with him tonight."

"Good for you," Carmen said seriously. "But I kinda knew this was coming. A guy of his social status..." she sighed, shaking her head sadly. "He'd never love one of us."

Sabrina pretended to look at Carmen and nod along as Kathryn glanced her way. Hopefully, her littlest friend wouldn't mention -

"Actually... that might not be true."

Damn it. Even though Sabrina was pleased to know it wasn't true, she'd rather keep her relationship-of-sorts under wraps. "What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"'Brina, I think he dumped me for you."

Carmen's eyebrows shot up, and Sabrina laughed. "Don't be ridiculous," she lied. "You're way prettier than I am, and funnier, and a lot more sociable..."

"True, I may not be as hostile as you are in social gatherings," Kathryn replied dryly, "but the rest of it is a lie. Sabrina, you're gorgeous. I mean - look at you!"

"This," Sabrina said, frowning and gesturing to her appearance, "is the work of Satan - otherwise known as my mom and sister."

"Oh, hush," Kathryn huffed, tears glistening in her eyes. Sabrina was surprised by their suddeness. What had she done wrong? "He didn't deny it when I asked - I know he's into you!"

Sabrina stepped forward and hugged Kathryn tightly. "Well then," she whispered, "he's a fool." It went against everything she'd been pissed about for the last couple of weeks, but it was obvious Kathryn was upset and needed comfort. _Who wouldn't be? Getting dumped by Puck is... it's terrible!_

Carmen swooped in and bullied her way around Sabrina until she was the only one hugging Kathryn. "My turn," she said, with a taunting grin at Sabrina, who giggled. "Now that we're all good and angry, how about a dance? Kathryn can hang out with all the hot guys and make Robin sorry he ever dumped her."

Kathryn wiped a stray tear from her eye and pulled away confidently. "Yeah, I guess it was really only a fling. He's cute and all, but... I can do better. Take him if you want, 'Brina." She waved a dismissive hand and all three girls laughed, although Sabrina was slightly relieved. If anything did come of Puck and Sabrina's rollercoaster relationship, she had the awkward go-ahead from Kathryn to use as an excuse.

They headed out onto the dance floor and soon Sabrina was having a great time, laughing and singing along to her favorite songs, finally forgetting about how awkward she felt in her dress and how much she wished she could talk to Puck without being accosted by Kathryn. When the first slow song played, she and Kathryn hung back as Carmen was asked to dance by a popular guy named Blaine Ashes and giggled at their friend's obvious embarrassment.

"This is the best part," Sabrina whispered to Kathryn, who nodded. "I'd rather be dead than dance with that blundering idiot."

Eventually, the song changed and the girls teased Carmen to no end, until finally she put her hands up in defeat and said she was going to get some punch. Kathryn and Sabrina high-fived, jumping up and down to Tiao Cruz's _Hangover._ Sabrina caughed sight of Puck, who was laughing raucously and dancing in a very lascivious manner.

And she was attracted to him... _how?_

Carmen brought back drinks for each of them, and the girls thirstily downed the punch. "This is so much fun," Kathryn said, grinning.

"You just broke up with your boyfriend!" Carmen pointed out. "How are you so happy?"

Kathryn shrugged. "I dunno, really. I'm sure I'll have a good cry when I get home, but for right now it's best just to ignore him."

"You shouldn't worry about being awkward around him," Sabrina said. "He's dumber than he looks, and he'll probably forget all about this in a few weeks. Just be yourself."

Kathryn sighed, tossing her empty cup in the garbage. "I wish I knew as much about boys as you do, 'Brina."

Sabrina was surprised. "Me? Know a lot about... boys?" She snorted. "You've got to be joking."

Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Think what you like."

Sabrina shrugged. She knew she was right; there was no way she knew much of anything about boys. She hadn't even had a boyfriend, and the most physical contact she was used to when dealing with them was the occasional punch, slap, or kick. That is... until Puck came around. Now he'd kissed her - three times.

Another slow song came on, and the girls headed over to the wall to wait it out, along with a group of other single kids. But just as Sabrina was getting ready to tap Carmen on the shoulder and ask her if she'd like to come to the restroom to talk, a hand grabbed her arm and spun her around.

Immediately on the defense, Sabrina yanked hard, twisting her attacker's arm until he landed on the floor with an audible, "Oomph!" Much to her embarrassment, she realized it was Puck. He sat up, rubbing his arm. "Geez, Grimm. I was only going to ask you to dance."

She could hear Kathryn and Carmen stop talking behind her; they were obviously listening in.

"Isn't this a bit sudden?" Sabrina asked cautiously. "I mean, after -"

"Nah..." He dragged her out onto the dance floor and put his hands on her waist. Blushing and trapped, Sabrina had no choice but to shakily put her hands on his shoulders. Oh, if Daphne were here...

She had been trying to avoid him the whole night, but now the faerie was standing right before her, smiling evilly. He knew he was embarrassing Sabrina to pieces, and he was enjoying it.

God, he was hot. Puck was clean, but his mop of blonde hair was tousled, like he hadn't combed it after his shower. Granny Relda had most likely forced him into the khaki pants and ironed Aeropostle shirt that was Puck's definition of 'formal'. And the whole time, he just kept smiling...

"Enjoying it?" he teased.

"I miss the forest," she muttered.

"The kiss?"

"Um..." she stuttered off. How could she reply? Yeah, she did miss the kiss and the feeling of euphoria it had produced. But Sabrina was acutely aware he could use her answer against her.

Puck leaned closer. "Don't worry. Me too," he whispered slyly in her ear.

"D-did you drink something?" she asked, her face as red as a setting sun. "Like rat poison? Or one of Uncle Jake's potions? Because you're not acting like yourself."

He sighed, pulling back a little. "I swear, Grimm, every time I try to, y'know, be a little... nice... You take it the wrong way, like I'm on drugs!"

"You on drugs is more plausible than you acting all lovey-dovey."

"You're impossible."

"Ditto."

But both of the teens were smiling.

As soon as the song ended, Sabrina pulled away. "You've probably just pissed Kathryn way off," she warned. "I'm most likely going to get a talking-to when I go back there."

"Eh. It was worth it. By the way - will you go out with me?"

Sabrina froze, her jaw dropping a little. Had he just asked her out? Was she hearing correctly? But... he'd been so casual about it! "You're kidding, right?"

His face fell a little. "D'you think I am?"

Oh god. He was serious. "Well... uh..."

"Look, if you don't want to..." he turned to leave, shoving his hands in his pockets. No doubt he was steaming over another huge blow to his reputation.

"Wait - no! Puck..." He turned back, fixing her with a hard emerald glare. She'd hurt his feelings. "I - yeah. Sure. Why not?" Speaking of ruined reputations...

Puck grinned. "Thanks." Then he disappeared into the crowd.

For the rest of the night, Sabrina was on Cloud Nine. Not only had she made up with Puck, she was his girlfriend! But of course she couldn't tell Kathryn that, even after her friend had cornered her and demanded details, a little put out. Sabrina had lied easily, saying that Puck had only danced with her to extract information on how Kathryn was dealing. Mollified, her small friend backed off, although Sabrina knew sooner or later she'd have to learn the truth.

At the end of the night, Veronica picked them up. Sabrina was glad; sitting in the car the whole ride home with her dad - and secret boyfriend - would have been extremely awkward.

"How'd it go, kiddos?" her mom asked, smiling.

"It was fun," Sabrina replied.

"It was awesome," Puck added, elbowing Sabrina in the ribs.

She pinched his leg and he squeaked, rather like a mouse.

Veronica didn't hear because someone had blasted their car horn at them - impatient to get moving. "Wait your turn, you impatient bozo!" her mother threatened. They pulled out of the parking lot and, ten minutes later, arrived back at the house. It was nearly ten o'clock, and Sabrina was exhausted. She tromped upstairs, ignoring Daphne's pleas for details, and shut herself in her bedroom.

She could not stop smiling. Maybe, just maybe, she could get her happy ending...

* * *

><p><em><em>**A bit of a long chapter, eh? I only just remembered the dance and quickly added that in, but it worked out quite well, didn't it? Not my favorite chapter, and that might be because of some of the big Puckabrina action in here. I dunno. OOC? Maybe. **

**Review!**


	16. Author's Note

**Author's Note chapter, because even though I didn't specify it in the previous chapter, that was the end of the story. *guilty chuckle***

**Here are a few updates:**

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><p><strong>I'm planning on making these two stories (SG: War and Beyond and Just Tell Me the Truth) into a series. How long that series will be, the world may never know. But from now on I'll just call them the War and Beyond series, so I don't have to type it all out. :)<strong>

**For those who've been PMing me: Yes, there will be another fic added to this. I have the basic outline planned out, but it's lacking a plot right now, and a conflict. It'll probably be named something cheesy, but right now I'm thinking "New Beginnings". Pretty corny, eh?**

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><p><strong>And because I'm so nice, here's a basic summary of the next story because I don't want to spell it out word for word in an AN: **

_***Sabrina is 19, Daphne is nearly 16, Basil is 9**_

_***Sabrina and Puck have been married for two months **_

_***Sabrina found out two weeks ago she's 1 month pregnant **_

_***Daphne's dating someone **_

_***Granny Relda passed away three years prior, Mr. Canis is still hobbling around**_

_***Henry and Veronica sold their NYC apartment and are living in a spacious flat in downtown FPL with Basil.**_

_***Red never aged.**_

_***Uncle Jake is still there, but is still depressed about Briar**_

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><p><strong>And life continues. So I've given you guys main story elements that I'll use in writing the threequel (that's a word, people!). <strong>

**I know this has been a boring update, but I hope you'll keep your eyes peeled for the next installment! **

**-ahack6**


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